The COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the annual fundraising party that Toys for Joys hosts to raise money and collect gifts for underpriviledged children in our community. The cruel irony is this year there are more children living in poverty and in need of your kindness and charity.
Without having the benefit of a large party to bring people together, that makes this year’s challenge to collect enough donations to distribute gifts to children that much more difficult. As a long time supporter of T4J and someone who believes in their mission, I’m asking you to share this message and join me in making a donation to this worthwhile charity that was started and has been nurtured by our LGBTQ community.
This year T4J is teaming up with The Wonderfund of Massachusetts, a private non-profit organization that works on behalf of children engaged with the MA Department of Children and Families. Donations to T4J will help fill most of the Wonderfund offices with toys and gifts for the children and families they serve. Your dontations will also go to support the following groups with toys and gifts this year:
Multicultural AIDS Coalition (Jamaica Plain)
IBA (South End)
Eastern Service Worker’s Association (Dorchester, East Boston, Mattapan)
Urban Farming Insitute (Mattapan)
United South End Settlements (South End)
Click the link above to learn more and to make a donation so the Toys for Joys charity can continue their good work, and please help spread the word.
I dedicate this weekly post, featuring vintage gay photographs, to the men and women who lived in a more critical time where being true to yourself and loving who you want wasn’t always an option and came at a great price. Do you have a photo you would like to share? Email me at bosguymail@gmail.com.
It was just one year ago that Sergio and I were traveling through Buenos Aires, Argentina where this handsome guy calls home but sadly our paths never crossed. I only discovered his Instagram after our visit but he has a respectable following with more than 70k people so maybe you follow him already.
I wish I knew more about this guy. Anyone recognize this cuddly bear who lives in the San Telmo neighborhood of B.A.? I can tell you he enjoys posting photos of his backside and other suggestive photos so you may want to look over your shoulder before you check out his account which is linked below.
You can follow this week’s featured account on Instagram here, and you can check out previously featured IG accounts here.
In case you missed it, on Tuesday, Governor Charlie Baker announced that due to rising COVID-19 rates, the State of Massachusetts would roll back to Phase 3, Step 1 beginning this Sunday.
What does Phase 3, Step 1 mean? The rollback will reduce indoor capacities across a broad range of sectors of the economy and tighten several other workplace restrictions. It will require the closure of certain businesses designated as Step 2 industries and capacity limits will be reduced to 40% for places like:
Arcades/Indoor and Outdoor Recreational Businesses
Driving and Flight Schools
Gyms/Health Clubs
Libraries
Museums
Retail
Offices
Places of Worship
Lodging (common areas)
Golf facilities
Movie Theaters (Maximum 50 people per theater)
Finally additional safety measures will be applied to restaurant dining which will include:
a reduction of maximum table size from 10 to 6
a 90-minute time limit on tables
diners being encouraged to only sit with members of the same household
wearing masks at all times except when actually eating and drinking, meaning you cannot take off your masks once seated
Much thanks to my friend, Jim Lundy for suggesting this photo. It is practically begging for some witty captions.
Hopefully the caption I’ve shared below inspires you to offer up a caption or two of your own. Leave a funny caption as a comment for this post, and I’ll approve it for readers to enjoy.
One year ago, Sergio and I were starting the second week of a five week adventure, traveling through Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. We flew out of Boston the Saturday after Thanksgiving and in retrospect, I’m so thankful that we took this amazing trip last year and didn’t defer it.
Initially, we flew to Brazil to drop off holiday gifts at Sergio’s Mom’s home then hopped on a plane the next day to fly to Mendoza, Argentina to explore wine country. I’ve only visited wine country in Napa and Sonoma Valleys in California and Hepburn Springs and Daylesford just outside of Melbourne, Australia. Mendoza struck me as more refined than Australia but less busy than Napa and Sonoma. The city of Mendoza is the jumping off point for wine enthusiasts and it is where we stayed, making daytrips to Ucco Valley and Lujan de Cuyo. It’s a cute and clean town but it isn’t until you get out of Mendoza that you can really appreciate the natural beauty of the Andes Mountain range and wine country.
After a decadent few days in Mendoza, we flew to Córdoba, Argentina which has the distinction of being Argentina’s second largest city and home to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Jesuit Block. We stayed at the Azure Hotel near the Plaza de San Martin and explored the city as well as the surrounding area, making a day trip to La Cumbrecita and Belgrano. For those unfamiliar with Córdoba, it is depicted in the 2019 film, The Two Popes when they flash back to Pope Francis’ life as a Bishop in Argentina during the anti-Communist military dictatorship from 1976-1983 that cozied up with the Roman Catholic Church.
From there we flew to Buenos Aires, Argentina. This beautiful city is filled with great restaurants, beautiful architecture, gorgeous parks and a pulse that makes going out always fun. Sergio and I had visitied B.A. previously but not for many years so we used the week here to explore. For those unfamiliar with the city, it is the largest city in Argentina and of huge political, historical and cultural importance. A third of the entire country’s population lives in the metropolitan area. If you plan to travel to Buenos Aires and need tips, feel free to reach out. I can share what we did, where we stayed and places we enjoyed visiting.
After spending more than two weeks in Argentina, Sergio and I hopped a ferry to Uruguay, staying one night in the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. The following day we rented a car and drove out to Undarius. Owned by Fran and Mario, this small property caters to gay travelers and is a 5 minute walk to the gay beach and a 15 minute drive to Punta del Este.
I had never heard of Punta del Este prior to planning this trip and think it caters more to affluent South Americans than Americans and Europeans, but this is a place you’ll hear of more in the future – mark my words. Despite my lack of familiarity, I did recognize the city’s most famous and photographed statue, “La Mano” or in English “The Hand”, which shows a large human hand emerging from the sand on Brava Beach.
Our final leg of this amazing adventure brought us back to Sergio’s hometown in Brazil, Belo Horizonte, spending 10 days with his Mom to celebrate the Christmas holiday. We spent our final three nights in to Sao Paulo, celebrating New Years Eve and starting 2020 poolside at the Renaissance Sao Paulo enjoying one last day of summer in South America before flying back to Boston.
This was an amazing trip, and I can’t help but reminisce. Thinking about what we were doing a year ago has been a healthy and happy distraction and is just one more reason I love to travel. Even if the trips must come to an end, the memories can last a lifetime.
Our final day of vacation at the Renaissance Hotel Sao Paulo, Brazil – January 1, 2020
In our family recipe book this is called “Easy Bake Chicken”. Even a novice in the kitchen can make this dinner and the good news is it has virtually no clean up and is always delicious. The ingredients you will need include:
1.5 lbs chicken thighs (skinned)
2 onions thinly sliced
2 cloves of minced garlic cloves
1/2 cup of chopped parsley
1/2 cup of Sherry wine
Seasoned bread crumbs and Italian herbs
Sprinkle of olive oil
8-10 sundried tomatoes (optional)
4-8 oz of thinly sliced baby bella mushrooms (optional)
Dash of salt and pepper
With regards to the chicken, you can use breast meat if you prefer. I sometimes mix the cuts using both light and dark meat.
Start by preheating your oven to 350⁰ and begin your prep work which includes adding about 3 tablespoons of olive oil to your baking pan (I use a 9″ x 13″ pyrex for the oven). Make sure the oil coats the pan because it will help prevent the meat from sticking.
Thinly slice your onions, mince your two garlic cloves and give a rough chop to the parsely (about 1/2 a cups worth) and set all that aside.
Roll your chicken in the oil coating the pan. This will help the seasonings stick. Then season with a few pinches of Italian dried herbs, a dash of salt and pepper and the minced garlic on both sides. Finally, sprinkle just enough breadcrumbs to lightly cover the top of the chicken and add 1/2 a cup of sherry in the pan. Next place your sliced onions on top of the lightly breaded chicken followed by the chopped parsley. I also add sundried tomatoes (not part of Nana’s recipe and optional to include). Your pan should look something like the photo above.
Cover the pan with foil and poke a few holes in the foil with a fork then put it into the oven for 35 minutes. Then take off the foil and bake for another 35 minutes, adding the sliced mushrooms with ~10 minutes remaining (again, optional). Finally, give it a good broil for about 2 minutes.
The one pan meal is easy to clean up and always delicious. Serve it with a salad or with steamed broccoli (cooked in the microwave for easy clean up). It is also delicious with pasta. You can use your extra sherry to make a sherry, shallot and butter sauce for the pasta, but I’ll share that recipe in a future post.
Song Inkollo is a comic book artist of Chinese descent who is from Nantes, France. He uses his comics to share his stories, and I really enjoy his comic series “Daily Life of a Gay Couple” and recently shared his work. If you like what you see, follow Song Inkollo on Twitter or better yet check out his Patreon site.
Each Friday morning I post a riddle to get you to think outside the box and exercise your brain. If you are stumped, share it with a friend or colleague and see if you can figure out the answer together.
I’ll confirm answers in the afternoon so don’t worry if you don’t see your comment posted right away. I want to give everyone a chance to guess.
This week’s brain teaser was shared by Neville Fogarty from Newport News, VA who submitted this to NPR’s Sunday Puzzle. It’s tricky but you can do it.
This week’s brain teaser: This well-known two word city (5 letters in the first word and 3 letters in the second) in the United States becomes the name of a popular 90s rock group if you change the first letter of the second word. Can you name the rock group?
HINT: This city is in a state that President Trump contested.
BosGuy 