kenneth in the (212)

Thursday, October 22, 2026

On the Rag, Vol. 930

In this week's rag 'n' mag roundup: Andrew Scott celebrates being gay; Pet Shop Boys revisit "It's a Sin"; Orville Peck opens up about addiction; Bob Colacello remembers Warhol's wild world; and more BELOW.

Wednesday, October 21, 2026

WTA Finals Field Is Set

The field is set for the 2026 WTA Finals, with Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka, Mirra Andreeva, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, Elina Svitolina, Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova qualifying for the season-ending championship.

All eight have won either a Grand Slam or WTA 1000 title this year. The tournament runs November 8-15 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in California, with the singles champion eligible to earn up to 1,500 ranking points.

"This is the ultimate stage, where the best play the best," said tournament director and former Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza, who praised the venue's "passionate fans and stunning desert backdrop."

While Rybakina holds the No. 1 ranking and leads the field, Sabalenka remains within striking distance, with up to 1,500 ranking points available to an undefeated WTA Finals champion. And having someone finish the year on top without winning a single major would be a ~~predictable~~ fitting end to another erratic season on the women's tennis circuit!

Remains of the Day (10/21)

DM: In a disturbing turn of events, Steffi Graf's troubled younger brother, Michael, is reportedly living in the underground tunnels of Las Vegas amid legal troubles, posting bizarre Facebook videos and making unsubstantiated allegations against his brother-in-law, Andre Agassi

NYT: A moving remembrance of Jeffrey Schmalz, the gay journalist who helped transform the Gray Lady's coverage of AIDS while battling the disease himself -- and who died in 1993 at just 39, before effective treatments became available

Boystack: "Elsinore" stars Andrew Scott as "Chariots of Fire" actor Ian Charleson, whose dream of playing Hamlet at London's National Theatre becomes a race against time as he battles AIDS -- in what may be Scott's finest performance yet

Deadline: Patrick Schwarzenegger is set to star opposite Leslie Grace in "The Journeyman," a crime thriller about a struggling professional tennis player who gets caught up in a dangerous match-fixing scheme to support his family

Wrestle Wednesday: You're not gonna believe this one

Men's Journal: "La Isla Bonita" was originally written for Michael Jackson, but Quincy Jones passed on the demo, leaving the door open for Madonna to turn it into an enduring hit

Out: Joel McHale's bare chest goes viral in sexy new video

Letterboxd: Ken Russell, whom I christened a "high-brow John Waters" after seeing "The Devils," gets his scandalous 1971 work restored to its uncensored glory in 4K, complete with scenes Warner Bros. kept from audiences for decades

Washington Blade: In a rare victory for transgender rights, the Supreme Court rejects an effort to end hormone therapy and other gender-affirming care for inmates in federal prisons

Instinct: The hunky Australian firefighters are back for 2027, stripping down and posing with adorable rescue animals for five editions of their annual charity calendar

People: Billy Idol, Belinda Carlisle, Boy George and members of the B-52s, Devo and Talking Heads revisit the music, fashion and rebellious spirit of the '80s in "New Wave," a four-part documentary premiering November 23 on MGM+, whatever that it

Just Jared: Benson Boone gives fans plenty to drink in at Los Angeles event

The 19th: LGBTQ rights are on the ballot in 2026, with voters facing measures that could shape the future of protections for gay and transgender Americans

Billboard: The B-52s will finally get their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on October 29, with the Go-Go's and comedian Fred Armisen on hand to celebrate -- just two days before the band wraps up its tour with Devo

Fox 9: You may have noticed that Lavender has been missing from my "On the Rag" roundups lately. Sadly, the longtime Minnesota gay magazine ceased publication in June after 31 years, with its publisher suggesting that it had fulfilled its mission now that gay rights had been "uniformly achieved"

Hot Cat of the Day: Zzzzzzzzzz

God's Love We Deliver: Andrew Scott, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Misty Copeland were honored at the charity's 20th annual Golden Heart Awards, with Michael Kors, Anna Wintour, Neil Patrick Harris and a host of other celebrities helping raise nearly $4 million to provide meals for New Yorkers living with serious illnesses. Read HERE.

Tuesday, October 20, 2026

Clearing the Shelves, Closing the Backlog and Turning the Page

Hello, page slaves!

So much to discuss since my last book report.

First off, I can now say that I have (essentially) read every book in my collection -- something that seemed improbable less than a year ago, when finishing them all became something of an obsession. (I always think it's a puerile question when someone sees a big collection of books and asks, "Have you read all of these?" But yes, I have!)

As a result -- and with my modest apartment's bookshelves completely full -- I think my book-buying days are effectively behind me, perhaps to the detriment of the publishing industry.

Moving forward -- and with thanks to the New York Public Library -- I've been getting nearly all of my titles as e-books and audiobooks, which I lay out below. I've also erased the two titles from my DNF column -- aka did not finish.

Here we go:

"The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" by Michael Chabon

As mentioned, I bought this debut novel by the Pulitzer-winning author when it came out to much fanfare in 1988, intrigued by its promise of bisexuality. It quickly became the one and only book I started but DNF, largely because of the mob angle that turned me off. But as I set out to clear my bookshelves, I decided to give it another chance and, sure enough, it wasn't bad. The story follows a recent college graduate whose sexual awakening and complicated relationships with a young woman and a gay man unfold against the backdrop of his father's ties to organized crime, which remained my least favorite angle. (I followed it with the much-maligned film adaptation, which combines two of the main characters into one, but didn't get nearly as worked up about the change as hardcore fans did -- perhaps a reflection of my muted reaction to the novel.)

"Two Boys Kissing" by David Levithan

My literary agent raved about this when it came out in 2013 -- so I purchased it. only for it to gather dust -- and now I can confirm he was 100% right! (How clever to have the lost voices witness this decidedly Gen Z moment.)

"A Long Way, Baby: Behind the Scenes in Women's Pro Tennis" by Grace Lichtenstein

This one's been on my shelves since I was 10 years old, an early purchase by my brother Bill when our family became obsessed with tennis. While I realize it wasn't exactly a best-seller, I was shocked to see that the whole Billie Jean King-Marilyn Barnett affair -- which wouldn't be "exposed" until a galimony suit in 1981 -- was laid out in black and white in the book's pages. Has anyone else ever mentioned this besides me (right now)?

"Dangerous When Wet: A Memoir of Booze, Sex and My Mother" by Jamie Brickhouse

I met Jamie at Don Weise's memorial earlier this year and his hilarious personality set the stage for finally reading my review copy -- turns out I have two! -- of his 2015 memoir, which was equally delightful.

"Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies" by Michael Ausiello

I've already mentioned that I had to put this down because the cancer ordeal was a little too close to home when I first tried to read it, but I'm so glad I went back. Gay love stories matter, and what a beautiful one to have on the record, ~~anal~~ warts and all.