This weekend Boston will join more than 50 cities worldwide in the annual No Pants Subway Ride. BostonSOS has an easy to follow instruction video that explains how the event works. Mark your calendars and plan on joining Sergio and me at Pemberton Square on Sunday afternoon for some fun on the MBTA.
If you have any questions feel free to reach out to me via my blog or you can check out the Boston No Pants Subway Ride Facebook page.
Boston has a number of fantastic museums that you can walk around and lose yourself in for several hours when the weather isn’t nice. I refer to these months as “Museum Season” because it is when I’m most likely to visit.
However the best museum to fend off winter blues is the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Their inner courtyard garden has flowers in bloom, flowing water and grass. The combined affect chases away the winter blues. Even if you don’t consider yourself much of a ‘museum person’, there are so many exhibits you might be surprised by what you find and how much you enjoy yourself. Below are a few other interesting museums you may want to visit.
Bad Art Museum: Located in the basement of the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square. Admission is free with the purchase of an event ticket to the Somerville Theatre so catch a movie or show before or after touring the museum.
Harvard Natural History Museum: Your tickets to this museum can also get you into Harvard’s neighboring Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology so you could consider this a twofer.
Harvard Art Museums: Harvard has an amazing collection of fine art and it is free for Cambridge residents; MA residents can enter for free every Saturday from 10:o0 am – 12:00 pm.
JFK Presidential Library & Edward M Kennedy Institute for the Senate situated overlooking Boston Harbor the JFK museum in particular takes you back to the early 1960s; it is a must see for any political junkie.
Museum of Fine Arts Boston is the city’s largest museum with extensive collections that include interesting current exhibitions ranging from ancient jewelry, abstract landscapes and fashion illustrations just to name a few.
This week the conservative Texas Republican Senator, Ted Cruz, learned a new word, karma. Cruz must be disliked by everyone because nobody in the Republican Party is coming to his defense in what is clearly a non-issue. After listening to Cruz and others question Obama’s citizenship, it is hard not to feel smug about the blow back he is now getting just weeks prior to IA and NH.
Republican Senator John McCain on Senator Cruz eligibility: “I was born in the Canal Zone which is a territory… That’s different from being born on foreign soil… I’m not a constitutional scholar on that, but I think it’s worth looking into. I don’t think it’s illegitimate to look into it.”
Republican Senator Rand Paul on Senator Cruz eligibility: “I think without question he is qualified to make the cut to be prime minister of Canada.”
Republican front-runner Donald Trump on Senator Cruz eligibility: “Republicans are going to have to ask themselves the question: ‘Do we want a candidate who could be tied up in court for two years?’ That’d be a big problem… I’d hate to see something like that get in his way. But a lot of people are talking about it and I know that even some states are looking at it…”
Tom Goss released a two minute video he taped while visiting Ogunquit, Maine earlier this year. Although the summer is now a distant memory his video shares some of the highlights of this quaint (gay) New England coastal town. For those of you who love Ogunquit, you will enjoy watching the clip and for those of you who may not be familiar with this tiny New England village it may make you want to put it on your bucket list of places to visit.
Wine Riot started here in Boston’s South End but it has grown considerably over the years. The events are one part education and one part revolution, reinventing “wine tasting” for the thirsty and curious.
Now the masterminds behind these events which have taken place in Chicago, New York, Washington DC, San Francisco, and Los Angeles is looking for a permanent home here in the South End. They have identified 519 Tremont Street (the former home of Design Within Reach) as their new, permanent home. Tonight they are hosting a South End neighborhood meeting and later next week they will go before the Boston Licensing board. If you would like to see Wine Riot open in the neighborhood they need your support. Spread the word.
Boston’s SpeakEasy Stage Company opens the new year with a soul-stirring musical called Violet. Set in 1964, Violet tells the story of a young North Carolina woman who travels by bus to Tulsa to see a faith-healer she thinks can transform her life. Along the way, she forms unlikely friendships with her fellow passengers, and learns that it’s the journeys you take in life that help you discover who you are.
Violet opens Saturday, January 9th and runs through February 6, 2016 at the Calderwood Pavilion in Boston’s South End. For more information about the musical and to purchase tickets visit: SpeakEasy Stage Company.
Since we can’t all afford to fly away every week, one needs a more practical if not economical option as well. For this reason I strongly recommend identifying a cuddle buddy. Not only can this help keep you warm during those colder months, it has a number of other benefits that I don’t care to get into detail. Let’s face it hibernating is more fun (not to mention warmer) with another.
Each Wednesday morning I post a photograph and ask readers to offer a funny caption. Much thanks to blog reader, Jordan, for sharing this week’s picture. I’ll get you started with a possible caption that hopefully inspires you to share a few of your own in the comments section below.
pre-game ritual to loosen up and relax before the big game
Suffering from a holiday hangover and have a serious case of the winter blues? Cheer up because next week MADtv will host a one hour 20th anniversary reunion special on the CW on Tuesday, January 12th. I wonder if Granite State native, Josh Meyers (Seth Meyers’ younger brother), will also make an appearance? Either way this is guaranteed to be fun to watch so set your DVRs.
While many in New England love the winter and all the sports and activities associated with the season, it is hard for me to embrace the cold. If you too are battling the winter blues, take note of my “Surviving a New England winter” posts. I can’t promise that you’ll love winter, but it won’t seem quite so awful.
For those who don’t know me, I think chocolate is the cure for everything, and when the winter blues come – nothing fends it off better than a deliciously rich mug of steaming hot chocolate. Boston has a number of truly delicious purveyors of hot chocolate. Find your favorite by turning it into an afternoon activity with a good friend.
I know who makes my favorite cup of hot chocolate in Boston, and I visit them regularly in the winter. Do you have a favorite selected? Do your research – don’t waste your money and calories on inferior hot chocolate. If you have a particular place that you love, please share it in the comments section.
Say hello to Choel who lives in Sao Paulo, Brazil but is originally from Argentina. Much thanks to Choel for emailing me this photo, after I suggested he should be this week’s Temptation Tuesday post. I can’t stress enough how handsome and friendly the men in South America are, but maybe this photo will help.
In an earlier post from today, I wrote about the importance of getting away to help you cope with a New England winter. Even though Sergio and I only just returned from Brazil this past weekend we have started our countdown for our pending visit to San Juan, Puerto Rico at the end of this month.
We first visited Puerto Rico about 5 years ago to escape the winter for a few days. We ended up staying at the La Concha Hotel (a Renaissance hotel property by the Marriott) and have returned to it several times because we enjoy it so much. On January 28th we will check-in again. Should you happen to be in San Juan at this time let me know and perhaps we can meet for a cocktail one evening.
Puerto Rico is a great place to visit during Boston’s Winter. Jet Blue has daily non-stop flights from Boston. We have also visited El Conquistador Resort and The W Resort on Vieques. If you are contemplating a visit somewhere warm and you have travel questions feel free to reach out to me.
With the start of the New Year, many people will make resolutions to try and give back to their community or to volunteer. While there is no shortage of worthwhile organizations that would benefit from your time and energy, I wanted to list a few LGBT organizations for consideration.
Gay For Good is a group that arranges volunteering opportunities in eleven different cities. G4G Chapters exist in Boston, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Los Angeles, Orange County, Pittsburgh, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and in the Twin Cities. The Boston chapter remains fairly active with different volunteering opportunities at a wide range of charities. Read here to learn more.
BAGLY started as a gay-straight alliance of sorts in 1980 in Massachusetts to create, sustain and advocate for LGBTQ youth. They may be best known for hosting the 1st prom for LGBTQ youth. Their work continues to help LGBTQ youth struggling to come to terms with their sexual identity and they host a handful of large public events for gay youth in the Boston area.
AIDS Action / Fenway Health merged in 2013 to streamline services and better serve our community. However, both organizations rely heavily on the help of volunteers. The services they offer the LGBT community are more numerous than I can manage to list, but there are opportunities to get involved at either location as well as with their MALE Center.
While many who live in New England love the winter and all the sports and activities associated with the season, it is hard for me to embrace the cold. The weeks that follow the holiday season are the most difficult for me. If you too are doing your best to battle the winter blues you may want to take note of a series of blog posts I’m going to share. I can’t promise if you follow these steps that you will love winter, but I can assure you it won’t seem quite so awful.
Today’s post is in many ways a re-posting of my How to avoid the winter blues: Vacation post that I shared back in October. This past fall I urged anyone who read my blog to make plans to book yourself a get away at some point in January, February or March to break up the season and have something to look forward to. You will be amazed at how therapeutic it is to get away – even if only for a long weekend – to someplace sunny and warm.
What to do this week: January 4th – 10th
November Project: Stair workout at Harvard takes place at the Harvard Stadium from 6:30-7:30 AM every Wednesday in Boston
DotOUT Midweek Meltdown is this week and all are welcome to come and attend the social. Join them at 224 on Wednesday, January 6 in Boston
ICA Boston every Thursday from 4PM – 9PM admission is free to the public. Visit the museum’s exhibits at no cost on Thursday, January 7 in Boston
Guerilla Queer Bar The Welcoming Committee’s monthly take over of a traditionally straight bar is Friday, January 8 in Boston
FUZZ Boston is a monthly party hosted this weekend in Downtown Crossing at the Alley Bar on Saturday, January 9 in Boston
Boston No Pants Subway Ride takes place around the world today so come down and join us on Sunday, January 10 in Boston (and around the world)
I’ve started posting a weekly listing of upcoming activities. Send me information about your upcoming programs and events in my blog’s comment section or message me the details on Facebook.
BosGuy 