The lovely and lusty month of May is at hand, but before we indulge let’s recap the last week of April, because good stuff happens then too. It began with a collection of keys. Outside, more lessons revealed themselves. Some stories longed to be told, but I wasn’t going to whisper them. There were parties to plan, and friends to gather. In the air, a hawk swooped through the middle of the day.

A lackluster Madonna Timeline proved that I don’t love everything she does.

Waiting for the day’s eye.

Mae West knows best.

The Delusional Grandeur Tour got all bloody.

Jewels & fruit.

The ‘Warrior Retribution‘ section began its jock-strap-shrouded descent, before concluding in superhero fashion.

A bevy of beautiful men bellied up to the Hunk bar: Ryan Serhant, Nathan McCallum, Ashley McKenzie, and Guilherme Rufino.

The beginning of May.

While naming favorites is my least favorite thing to do, May is definitely in my top three of favorite months. It has within it the entire anticipatory thrill of summer, and the very high-point of spring – the best of both worlds at once. That time is again upon us, but before looking forward (and there’s a lot to look forward to) here’s a little look back at last May:

• This was a pleasant reminder of what I just wore the other day: Le Jardin de Monsieur Li.
• Let’s go back to Boston Harbor. It’s pretty now.
• Naked gardening.
• Super jockstraps (in a wide array of styles).
• When spring gets lonely.
• One for the road.
• My issues with FaceBook may have started with my ass. (As many things do.)
• When things go soft.
• A gay boy finds his heart.
• I’m lucky to have worked in two wonderful offices. (And I smell all the better for it.)
• Soon, there will be Maine. (I cannot wait.)
• Adam Levine naked. You’re welcome.
• Happy May!

The Delusional Grandeur Tour returns to Boston this weekend, but first a look back at where we’re at, and from where we’ve come:

01)  Intro/Curtain – Part One, Part Two, Part Three

02)  Sunset Pool – Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five

03)  On The Road Hotel – Part One, Part Two, Part Three

04)  Rock Star Addict – Part One, Part Two, Part Three

05)  Animal Demons – Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five

06)  Steam Punk Birdcage – Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four

07) Red Riding Wood – Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five

08) Winter Top Hat – Part One, Part Two

09) Warrior Retribution – Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five…

Tomorrow we continue the Warrior Retribution battle, and as you may have noticed, things are getting bloody good… or good and bloody.

“I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.” - Mae West

Outside the 10^th floor windows of my office, a hawk soars in circles. Carving wide curves in the air, its wings catch the currents and it floats high above downtown Albany. It doesn’t seem to be looking for anything to eat – no scurrying rodent down below, no nest to raid a little higher – it simply glides through the sky.

Without getting too anthropomorphic, it appears to be exulting in the freedom that being a bird entails.

Behind the glass, behind the blinds, I am not the only one who envies that freedom.

That Virginia Woolf moment when all you want to do is throw a party, but your whole inner-world is in turmoil, so you go out and buy flowers because it’s the last thing that might save your sanity – this is not a picture of that. Instead, it’s a portrait of the last big party I had in Boston – for JoAnn’s 40^th birthday. This year we’re reconvening on a smaller and more intimate scale, and Kira will once again help out for the festivities. (At least, I hope she will…)

Spring gatherings always remind me of Gatsby, of nights when the perfume of unseen blossoms fills the air, and the world seems filled with the unfurling hope and promise of summer. In the hours before the guests arrive, we pause and take in the moment. All the preparation and cleaning, all the assembly and finishing – it comes together and there is an hour or two of quiet and peace. Sometimes that’s the best part of a party.

In order to have the best of both worlds, this upcoming gathering is designed to be on the cozier side of things. Very rarely do I get to talk to everyone at a party because there is too much going on and too many people involved. I’m looking forward to breaking that spell.

The dull and the mundane are often overlooked, but they have their stories too. Most of the time they never get told – too unexceptional, too uninteresting, too commonplace to be worthy of a tale. I’m not going to say anything on their behalf, however, as it would be conjecture and half-hearted guessing at best. Weave your own back-stories and make up your own fantasies on how these objects came to be discarded. It is a world of the lost.