This week on Instagram: 100daysofpasta

Emily TrotochaudIf you are a carb-hater or gluten-phobe this may not be the Instagram account for you, but if you live for pasta the way I do then this account is tantalizing. I had the pleasure of meeting Emily Trotochaud at a cooking class she was leading at Sur La Table in the Copley (ironically not to cook pasta) and I started following her account that evening.

Follow Emily on Instagram here, instagram.com/100daysofpasta.

Do you like this weekly post? Check out previously featured IG accounts here.

Caption this photo

Kitty

Hopefully the caption I’ve shared below inspires you to offer up a caption or two of your own. Leave a witty or funny caption as a comment for this post, and I’ll approve it for readers to enjoy.

Peek A Boo

Boston’s gay dodgeball league

gay boston, gay boston sports leaguesEach Tuesday I feature a different LGBTQ club or organization to try and help gay men living in the Boston area connect. This week I wanted to share with you Boston’s gay dodgeball league. Registration for the summer season will open on Saturday, May 12th and there is a slight discount if you register early.

Dodgeball Summer Registration Opens Saturday, May 12

They will host a pick up game that everyone is welcome to on Thursday, June 28th and games will officially start Thursday, July 12. Games will be held on Thursday evenings at the Holland Community Center in Dorchester.

gay boston, gay sports clubs in bostonIf this sounds like something you’d be interested in checking out, I’d encourage you to give the club a closer look. You can find more information online at gaydodgeball.com/boston or on the facebook page, facebook.com/GayDodgeball.

I want to feature the LGBTQ groups and organizations that help people connect and enrich Boston’s gay life. If you’d like to have your club / team featured, please email me at bosguymail@gmail.com or via FB messenger.

Massachusetts poetry festival

Boston Gay Men's Book ClubSalem, MA is set to host the 10th annual Massachusetts Poetry Festival, May 4-6. Turning this picturesque New England town into epicenter of contemporary American poetry, and providing you the chance to hear many of the nation’s best poets read and discuss their work in intimate and engaging forums.

The Massachusetts Poetry Festival is the nation’s largest annual poetry festival, showcasing nearly 100 poetry readings and workshops, a small press and literary fair, panels, poetry slams, visual arts, and open-air performances. This year’s festival will include nearly 300 local and nationally known poets.

Of particular interest are the discussions, College Slammers – Poetry Slam from students at area colleges on Friday, May 4th from 9-10:30PM at the Hawthorne Hotel; We’re Here. We’re Queer: New Poetry Books by LGBTQ Writers on Saturday, May 5th from 2-3PM at the Hawthorne Hotel; and The Shakespeare Time-Traveling Speakeasy on Sunday, May 6th from 2:30 – 3:30PM at the P.E.M.For more information about the festival visit their website, masspoetry.org.

Temptation Tuesday

handsome, hunk, shirtless guy, muscular guyA couple weeks ago I posted a guy who clearly never skips legs day at the gym and I received so much positive feedback I thought I’d share another for all you legs guys out there.

Past Temptation Tuesday Posts

SpeakEasy Stage presents Allegiance

BosArts, Boston TheaterSpeakEasy Stage Company’s next production, Allegiance, opens Friday, May 4th. The play is inspired by George Takei’s (Mr. Sulu on “Star Trek) childhood experience when his family’s lives were upended, when they and 120,000 other Japanese-Americans were forced to leave their homes following the events at Pearl Harbor in WWII. ALLEGIANCE  follows the family as they fight between duty and defiance, custom and change, family bonds and forbidden loves.

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE

Men in kilts

handsome, man in kilt, shirtless guy

This week is for all of you guys who prefer your men in kilts with a furry sporran.

Previous Men in Kilts Posts

What to do this week: April 30 – May 6

gay boston, handsome, hunk, mustache

Nearly 50 events, parties and programs are listed below. They range from the Boston Gay Men’s Book Club to Housboi a mid-week drag show / party and includes pretty much everything in between.

Looking to this weekend, I’d like to give shout outs to the following: 10th Mass Poetry Festival runs Friday through Sunday in Salem, MA; Boston taco festival all day on Saturday in Gov’t Center; The SoWa Art Walk both Saturday and Sunday;  First Tea Dance at Boatslip starts at 4PM on Friday in Ptown; EXTRA with Special Guest Lady Bunny at Machine on Saturday; and finally, Verna Turbulence’s Drag Brunch at Club Cafe on Sunday.

gay boston, Out of the Archives

Thursday, May 3 at the History Project in the South End

MONDAY – THURSDAY

Pizza & Game Night is every Monday from 5-9PM (check out their ping pong and foosball tables) at Dorchester Brewery in Dorchester

Boston Gay Men’s Book Club meets on Monday starting at 7PM at the Trident Bookseller’s Cafe in Boston

Drag Bingo is every Monday starting at 7PM free to play at Club Cafe in Boston

Social Mixer & Pool is hosted by Stonewall Sports each Monday evening at Scholars starting at 7:30 in Downtown Crossing

Taco Tuesday appears to have stepped into the void created by Tremont 647’s closure – head to Lucy’s Tavern from 6:30 – 9PM in Dorchester

gay boston, HRC at Equinox

HRC New England “Spring Training” is on Tuesday at Equinox newest location in Boston in the Seaport starting at 7PM

Trivia Tuesday is every Tuesday at the Dorchester Brewing Company and starts at 7:30PM in Dorchester

Showtune Tuesday hosted by VJ Ryan Grow starts at 9PM every Tuesday at dbar in Dorchester

Karaoke Night starts at 10PM every Tuesday at Jacques in Boston

Stump Trivia with Jonathan Brett is guaranteed fun and has lots of prizes (trivia starts at 8PM) hosted every Tuesday at Club Cafe in Boston

Sports Night at Peggy’s  is every Wednesday night at Peggy O’Neil’s pub in Dorchester

Housboi is back on Wednesday at the Middlesex starting at 9PM with Trip Report, Kandy Muse & Momo Shade in Central Square in Cambridge

gay boston

Atomic Karaoke with DJ Stevie Psyclone & Jonathan Brett is every Wednesday at Club Cafe in Boston

ICA Boston every Thursday from 5PM – 9PM admission is free to the public

Queer Boston Board Gamers is meeting Thursday from 6-9PM at the Cambridge Center Foyer in Cambridge

Rebuilding the Historic Closet: The Up Stairs Lounge Fire is at The History Project’s space in the South End starting at 6PM in Boston

Bear Trivia Night is at 8PM every Thursday at The Alley Bar in DTX Boston

Showtunes & Disney Queeraoke Sing-Along! Grab a micas you take on a whole new world at Queeraoke’s Showtunes & Disney Sing-a-long

BRASH | Queer Party is hosted every fourth Thursday at Brass Union from 9PM – 1AM in Union Square, Somerville

Karaoke Thursdays is every Thursday at Machine with your hosts Rob Botelho and Emphysema Menthol 100s in Boston

handsome, men in jeans, shirtless hunk

THE WEEKEND

10th Mass Poetry Festival runs Friday through Sunday this weekend in Salem Ma with many events free and open to the public – in Salem

First Tea Dance at Boatslip is Friday and although it may not be summer-like weather yet it is hard not to be excited – tea dance starts at 4PM in Ptown

Queer Inclusive Climbing Klub (QuICK) Pizza night and climbing club at Brooklyn Boulders in Somerville

ALLEGIANCE (Opening Weekend) premieres on Friday at the Calderwood Pavilion in the South End and runs through June 2nd in Boston

Guerrilla Queer Bar (GQB) takes over a traditionally “straight” bar the first Friday of each month – later this week the destination will be shared.

gay boston, pi alley, DJ begbick

Casual Fridays is a weekly dance party with no cover featuring DJ Begbick at the Alley Bar in DTX

La Boum’s 9th Anniversaire! /Queer Dance Party Come listen to some Madonna, Robin S., Robyn, Janet, Beyoncé on Friday starting at 10PM

FASCINATION Friday is a monthly gear/ fetish/ kink night at Jacques the 1st and 4th Friday of the month in Boston

Video Night Tracks every Saturday night join VJ Ryan Grow at Cathedral Station starting at 9:30PM

The Donkey Show is the ultimate disco experience is a story inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream each Saturday at Club Oberon in Cambridge.

Boston taco festival runs all day on Saturday in Gov’t Center

SoWa Art Walk

By Evan Rosenberg || 450 Harrison Avenue Studio 307A

SoWa Art Walk starts at 11AM on Saturday and 10 AM on Sunday so come over to SoWa and check out Boton’s Creative Economy up close and personal

ENCORE is Boston’s Gay Men’s Chorus annual gala and this year it is at the historic Omni Parker House

Don Julio Tequila Tasting head over to Cathedral Station for a tequila tasting from 7-9PM in Boston

Gagged LGBTQ Saturdays starts at 9PM at Brothers Taverna in Salem

Grunt is a weekly dance party with no cover for burly men and their admirers, starting at 10PM at the Alley Bar in DTX

gay boston

EXTRA with Special Guest Lady Bunny is an 18+ party at Machine on Saturday starting at 10PM in Boston

UNITE Saturdays is a weekly dance party at Club Cafe with DJ Susan Esthera (no cover before 11PM) in Boston

Saga Saturdays Boston’s biggest gay dance party at Paradise in Cambridge

Verna Turbulence’s Drag Brunch starts at 12PM on Sunday at Club Cafe and raises money for the Boston Living Center in Boston

DADT Presents Boi Butter Brunch on Sunday starts at 1PM at Trophy Room in Boston

sergio mazon

NoH8 campaign comes back to Boston’s W Hotel on Sunday 2-4PM

Open NOH8 Photo Shoot runs from 2PM – 4PM on Sunday at the W Hotel in Boston

Sunday Tea Dance never has a cover and always has great music from 70s 80s & 90s, starting at 6PM no cover every Sunday at Club Cafe in Boston

Karaoke at the Alley is every Sunday starting at 8PM in Boston

Pajama Party is a weekly dance party hosted every Sunday starting at 10PM at Machine in Boston

Hot Mess Sundays at Candibar in the Theater District is every Sunday starting at 10PM in Boston

Send me information about your upcoming programs and events in my blog’s comment section or message me the details on Facebook.

LGBTQ curriculum to be added to MA schools

Considering the current political climate in the US it was interesting to see that earlier this week it was announced that Massachusetts schools will be able to try a new curriculum with LGBTQ-themed history, English and health this fall.

The curriculum, developed by a team of teachers with Massachusetts Safe Schools Program for LGBTQ Students and the Massachusetts Commission on LGBTQ Youth, will be released this summer, and is expected to feature lessons on the 1969 Stonewall Riots and writings by gay and lesbian authors. It will also feature lessons like how Nick Carraway’s love for Jay Gatsby may have influenced themes in “The Great Gatsby.”

LGBT history

Allen Ginsberg on the left was was an American poet, philosopher, and writer. He is considered to be one of the leading figures of both the Beat Generation

The units are optional and the decisions of what will be included will be made at the local level. In case you missed it you can read the full article about this interesting change (for the better IMHO) in the Boston Herald article

Asian Americans are part of the new South

Photo from Center for American Progress

When political scientists talk about shifting demographics I tend to think first about Latinos, but a recent article in the Huffington Post points to a quiet but persistent migration of Asian-Americans to the South and it speculates on the potential impact this population might have in regional politics.

According to the article, the Asian American population has grown by 69% over the past decade in the South. This is interesting and potentially problematic for Republicans, because the nonpartisan National Asian-American Survey found in 2016 that twice as many Asian Americans now identify as Democrats than Republicans. In Georgia, for example, the Asian-American population grew 136% over the last ten years (according to the American Community Survey). In the state of Virginia, the Asian American population grew by 113% during the same time, and according to the Pew Research Center, the number of Asian American who voted from 2004 to 2012 grew by 180%.

voting, elections

It is really unclear if the Asian American population in the South has the numbers to influence elections at a state level (my guess would be they aren’t quite there yet), but the trend remains interesting. I had foolishly thought the 2008 and 2012 Presidential elections were indicators that a new multicultural and multiracial voting block had finally come of age, but now I know better. The ageing, white baby boomers are now approximately the same size as Millennials and this younger generation is more racially mixed. Asian Americans and other races will have an increasing impact on the outcome of future state and national elections but what that might look like is hard to predict at this point.

Scruffy Sunday

men in bed, bed time selfiePrevious Scruffy Sunday Posts

Saturday morning coffee

handsome, hunk, man drinking coffeeEnjoy your morning cup of joe (or whatever you want to call him).

Saturday morning comics

gay cartoon, gay comic, James Asal Jr.ADAM & ANDY is set in the fictional New England town of Woodfield, CT. You can learn more about this strip by visiting, adamandandy.com.

Click on this week’s comic to enlargejames asal jr., gay cartoon, gay comic strip

Last week’s Comic Strip

7th Annual Japan Festival April 28-29

japan festival boston第7回日本ボストン祭

In 2012, the first Japan Festival Boston was hosted, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the friendship gift of cherry blossom trees from Kyoto (the sister city of Boston) to Washington D.C. This year marks the seventh annual Japan Festival in Boston on the Boston Common (April 28-29).

For those of you who enjoy Japanese food note that Saturday (1PM – 6PM) there will be nearly a dozen vendors selling some of the best ramen noodle you can find in Boston. On Sunday (11AM – 5PM), additional booths will be open, workshops will be ongoing as well as stage performances, a cosplay contest and more. For more information about this year’s festival, visit their website, www.japanfestivalboston.org, and if you are fascinated by Japanese culture be sure to check out The Japan Society of Boston.

Zeitgeist Stage presents Love! Valour! Compassion!

zeitgeist stage, boston theater, bosartsBoston’s Zeitgeist Stage presents, Love! Valour! Compassion! Tickets remain available for their opening weekend. The production, which opens tonight will run through Saturday, May 19th.

Love! Valour! Compassion! by Terrence McNally was the 1995 Tony Award winner for Best Play.  The gay-themed show is set at a beautiful Dutchess County farmhouse. Eight gay male friends hash out their passions, resentments, and fears over the course of thee summer weekends.  The house belongs to Gregory, a successful Broadway choreographer now approaching middle age, who fears he is losing his creativity.  Each of the guests is connected to Gregory’s work in one way or another, from his costume designer to business consultants.  Flirtations, infidelities, AIDS, truth-telling, and soul-searching mix questions about life and death with skinny dipping and a wild dress rehearsal of Swan Lake in drag.

If you’re looking for a fun evening out consider Zeitgeist Stage. The 2 hour and 30 minute play has two intermission and some of the most affordable prices for live theater in Boston with ticket prices starting at $20.

Love! Valour! Compassion!
Friday, April 27 – Saturday, May 19
Get Your Tickets Here