GLAAD's annual summer event on Wednesday night drew "out" some gay cognoscenti, including (above) weatherman Sam Champion (who I don't think is officially on the record as gay?), recently engaged longtime partners Thomas Roberts and Patrick Abner (below) and Manhattan implant Sonja Morgan (way below).

More photos here, all by Linda Lenzi.

Gosh, are Sonja's boobs even on speaking terms anymore?

Ageless Bernadette Peters

The 23rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards at the Marriott Marquis last night was a fun time once I decided I was for sure not dashing to Connecticut to support a friend's event starring Mickey Rooney. I'd already committed to GLAAD and couldn't quite wrap my mind around three hours (both ways) of travel for an hour of notoriously curmudgeonly Rooney fielding questions about his career and undoubtedly griping about the filth that passes for entertainment today, but I was happy to hear later that Mickey's gig was a treat in the end.

Here I am interviewing Thomas Roberts (photo from here)

José was my camerman (which removes a lot of the stress; having to stick a video camera directly into someone's face is awkward, especially when they're not performing sexual acts and high on whatever people get high on these days).

He and I and everyone I ran into were kvetching about how tired we were, didn't wanna do this massive red carpet, etc. But it wound up being rather cool.

I was next to a really fun girl whose hair, nonetheless, kept creeping into my face and all over my body (she had a mane on her). At one point, it worked itself under my MEDIA sticker and tugged it partially off like one of those cartoon vines. She apologized and I accepted, but I have enough hair all over me.

Cheyenne Jackson

Johnny & Victor Weir-Voronov

Kim Wayans

Megan Hilty

Phillip Spaeth

Thomas Roberts

Vinny Guadagnino

Wendy Williams

Zach Wahls

More after the jump...

I'm way behind on my blogging thanks to a last-minute trip to Vegas and some work drama, but I wanted to be sure I wrote about GLAAD's 10th Annual OUTAuction, held this past Sunday at the Metropolitan Pavilion on W. 18th St.

Greeted at the door with a program and a smile

I landed at JFK, went home, showered and readied myself, and immediately turned around to get to the carpet on time. The event had originally included Jonathan Groff (who I've seen four times in the past couple of weeks but resisted assaulting for a pic-with since I'd be seeing him here), but Groff was suddenly unavailable after confirming. He wasn't the only one—it was pretty ridiculous how many people scheduled to attend did not, including Ramona Singer (who was lazily tweeting about a romantic weekend she was having out of the city), Anika Noni Rose and Anthony Rapp.

I was the only person on the carpet doing video interviews, and I didn't do many, just the event's special performer Kimberely Locke ("Do I look good???" she playfully asked me before we began) and the most famous face to attend, MSNBC's Thomas Roberts. I asked them both what part of them would go for the most money if they were to auction it off, thinking they'd opt for something like "my sincerity" or "my loyalty." Instead, Kimberley opted for her "girls" (they are spectacular) and Thomas, smiling at the implications, settled on his eyes. (Though any fool knows his behind is the anchor of the Thomas Roberts show!)

Patrick Abner & Thomas Roberts

Mark MacKillop & Rich Ferraro

The funniest part of the carpet was when my "date," ginger model (and model ginger) Mark MacKillop, arrived and crashed it. Hey, he's over six feet tall and is striking so gave the carpet some much-needed glamour, but I was dying and hoping GLAAD wouldn't be mad. They weren't. Mark's got an expression that says "I mean business," so it was cute when BroadwayWorld.com's Linda Lenzi encouraged him, "Can I get a tiny smile?" only to be met with an even more intensely brooding glare. Loved meeting her and her sidekick, Broadway star/hottie Ruben Flores. (Linda's amazing coverage is here.)

As of midnight tonight, it will be exactly five years since my first post. It's hard to imagine it's been that long, and a lot's changed—the tone and subject matter are different, how often I post, my limits (no nudity in a couple of years due to ad constraints). I've devoted a crazy amount of time and money and energy to this blog for a very small financial return (you couldn't guess low enough), but it's always rewarding to have this forum with which to express myself, keep my writing ability fluid, perhaps influence a couple of people here and there, share obsessions with strangers (in both senses of the word) and learn new things.

Take That's Howard...can you believe this happened onstage at a pop concert?

Here are some of the posts that were most important to Boy Culture's history. For the uninitiated, some of the oldest ones refer to Boy Culture, the movie made of my novel; I started the blog at the time Boy Culture was being filmed as a way to keep people informed of the progress...and it all snowballed from there.

Subtle

Some of these posts are milestones when it comes to the hits they provided but most are filled with original writing and/or photography and video and are just the posts of which I'm proudest. I hope you'll take some time to click on them and send their links around to others—and some time is what you'll need...

MY ART

Boy-crazy

FROM BOY TO MAN: BC B.C. (2007): The entire history of my novella, novel and movie Boy Culture; might be my ultimate post.

From '07, one of my faves. Old iPhones were better because they were worse.

"Your pictures suck" (2008): An art critic attacks me, but not without sustaining some hits in return.

GUYDAR (since at least January 17, 2008) & ENDS OF THE WORLD (since at least January 13, 2008): Attractive men of the world—I got your backs. Your fronts, too.

i-i-i (phone)

TriBeCa is for Boy lovers...

BOY ON FILM (2006): An account of the NYC launch party for Boy Culture as it played the TriBeCa Film Fest.

I was left "Reeling" by the experience

FRIENDS AND "FAMILY" (2006): The movie version of Boy Culture hits Chicago.

RAPT PUPIL (2006): The final night of Outfest with Boy Culture; I was fat but on the other hand got to meet Bryan Singer.

Let's call it a draw

DRAWN TOGETHER (2008): How my desire to draw related to my secret desire. One of my absolute favorite posts.

ME

Death of the party—Jeff in high school, already halfway through his life

BURNING MAN (2007): Tribute to my late high school friend and first romance.

I had the Fever for Jon-Erik Hexum

AN OBSESSION IS BORN (2009): One of my best posts about my obsession with...obsession.

Death becomes here

ILLINOIS DEATH TRIP (2007): Ruminations on death while revisiting a past home, and the past.

Life is short and meaningful

PASSING BY (2008): Mourning the loss of a person I only met once.

I was given the red-carpet treatment

HAVEN'T WE MET? (2010): Celebrating my time with someone I've only met once—Madonna.

Sandra Day O'Connor is not my fave Supreme Court Justice ever, but I'd gladly take her back in exchange for Scalia or Roberts or Thomas considering how reasonable she usually is. (Not always!) Case in point, she's speaking out against moving from merit-based to election-based selection of judges in Iowa, and she also made this remark:

"As Iowa goes, so goes the nation, and I wish the rest of the nation would hurry up and go."

Marriage-equality reference? Maybe not. But definitely an endorsement of the way things are currently run in Iowa.

Scott Herman is a straight ally and a gay sex object

Last night was GLAAD Manhattan (tons more photos at Guest of a Guest), an event held at 230 Fifth's swanky rooftop garden and bar that was hosted by Bethenny Frankel. Well, she hosted it in the sense that she showed up looking smashing, GLAADly did unguarded interviews with every outlet on the red carpet and then split without ever setting foot in the party.

Empire state of mind—José and I

It was a steamy affair—New York + humidity = everyone swimming in their underwear. To make matters worse, I'd walked over from Times Square in my jacket. There was a tropical theme but I don't look good in floral shirts, so I had to improvise, grabbing a Hawaiian T-shirt of mine that has since become one of José's pajama tops and wearing it under my jacket. Of course, half the people arrived in shorts and tank tops. Leave it to the guy who has worn long pants once all summer to be overdressed.

GLAAD: Just an idea, but try a slave auction next time...

Speaking of which, the first thing I spotted when I got off the elevator was a mass of barely-clad models showing off their swimsuits. Turns out they were auctioning off their worn Speedos. I got close enough to see that they were wearing something under the Speedos (so fetishists would think this auction failed the smell test), but I didn't have $90+ on me anyway. I have no doubt they found plenty of takers at varying price points.

What a drag!

The carpet was as small as the minds of the people GLAAD is up against, but quite chummy. The lesbian videographer next to me from Go nudged me out of her shot so gently it felt like I was being put to bed by Mother. There were some Z-list celebs to contend with—bless them, though—which is only difficult in that you feel like an asshole having to discreetly ask who they are. The only one I really had to roll my eyes at was a blonde bombshell who told me, when I asked why coming out to this event was important, that she loves parties.

Jujubee made perspiration look elegant

I was shocked when several of the evening's drag performers blew off the cute reporter next to me. Apparently, he was friends with them, so they weren't taking him seriously. Lookit, if you're a drag queen at an event, you better be willing to pose for photos until the flashes die out and answer every question asked of you.

 

Via Joe.My.God.: Yesterday on The View, fill-ins D.L. Hughley and MSNBC's Thomas Roberts (the former much more so than the nervous latter) contributed to a discussion on the FDA's decision to maintain its ban on blood donations from any men who've had sex with other men since 1977. Hughley eventually stated agreement with the decision, stating that "political correctness" has no place in the medical world.

"Gay-lifestyle" foe D.L. Hughley and out MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts joined The View today, and the results were...a whole lot of crazy coming from Elisabeth Hasselbeck and way too many prayer-obsessed hosts. The debate was whether or not President Obama should have referenced prayer regarding the BP spill. Joy Behar said no because it's not logical, which led to Hasselbeck insisting that prayer IS logical. Oh, and of course Sherri Shepherd emphatically believes prayer "works."