A collection of plastic critter toys!
Early NYC cab... uh, not really. But I bet the ride was just as bumpy.
FDR vs. Willkie for Prez buttons. Wonder who won...
Gay carved fireman?
Val and gay meese.
The swankiest Duane Reade drug store I've ever seen, Upper West Side.
Okay, my final post on Queen Mary Mayor Mike Bloomberg... from the New York Daily News: "No doubt, many voters rebelled against the constant harangue of Bloomberg flyers and those nasty Bloomberg commercials and phone calls and just wanted them to end. The mayor will still call this a democratic victory - final proof that New Yorkers endorse his naked power grab last year to overturn term limits. He fools no one. In the midst of the city's worst economic crisis in 60 years, Bloomberg spent money like a million drunken sailors to buy his job for the third time. Quite simply, he buried democracy under mountains of cash - because he could."
Billionaire Michael Bloomberg won a third term as New York mayor Tuesday in a closer-than-expected race against a Democratic challenger who stoked voter resentment over the way Bloomberg changed term-limits law so he could stay in office.
Anxious to see how many people voted for liberation from Bloomberg... Meanwhile, the state of Maine is voting whether to discriminate against their neighbors, co-workers, friends and, uh, hairdressers, to make gay marriage illegal. At 10 p.m., 53% are in the lead for equality.
For what little it was worth, I cast my mayoral vote today for Democrat Bill Thompson—the candidate who is enough of a practiced politician to get the job done, but actually earned his current role as city comptroller, instead of, in the case of dictator Mayor Bloomberg, deciding one day, "Hmm, I'm kind of bored counting my billions... Hey, I think I'll throw out a few hundred million bucks to buy myself the mayoral office in the biggest city in the country. Then I'll finally be cool!"
Listening live online to 1010 WINS-AM, New York's legendary local news station... waiting for the bad news that Bloomberg bought his (illegal) third term. I'm only hoping that his "victory" will be tight enough to humble this arrogant prick... Naw, what am I thinking? The only thing bigger than his bankroll is his ego... or perhaps the closet he hides inside.
Adrian Pasdar has been my favorite (living) actor for well more than a decade. Following two failed series, "Proft" and "Mysterious Way," numerous low-budget movies, turns in "Judging Amy," Desperate Housewives," many more—and his particularly memorable turn in an episode of "Outer Limits" 
called "In the Zone" (very revealing britches, cool cats, most memorable), when he was cast in the hit series "Heroes," I was overwhelmed: fame at last (for more than being a Dixie Chicks husband).
Of course, that series lost its mind in season two, after it introduced 500 confusing new characters, sent one its leads 
back to King Arthur's court or some nonsense, and pretty much was as confounding as "Lost" became—as well—in season two (I just hope that "Fast Forward," the latest intelligent network series, will somehow avoid the sophomore curse).
perhaps he'll headline his own star vehicle.
In the fabulous Meatpacking district today for a business lunch... Ah, how it has changed from the days of curious smells, warehouses—for carcasses, not loft living—and a certain seedy element that made it unique...
Remarkably, Hogs and Heifers, the down-and-dirty bar that inspired "Coyote Ugly," remains intact.
For the most part, these days it's a West Side destination for high-end boutiques, fine dining and million-dollar living... clean and beautiful, if not a little lacking in novel charm.
Lunch at the stylish Standard Grill, with the enormous, boxy Standard Hotel towering above it—and actually positioned on the High Line Park train trestle.
Meanwhile, High Line Park opened earlier this year to great fanfare—an old train trestle that originally spanned from Spring Street in Soho to Penn Station at 34th Street, some 30 feet in the air. It was constructed in the 1930s because cars and trains kept colliding on 10th Avenue, giving the area the nickname Death Avenue. Fun! 
Up, over and onward...
Tallulah!
Dennis & Ashley.
The best pizza on the planet.
On the walk home, Ayhan at Fulton Landing.
In two days, we have received FIVE annoying pre-recorded junk calls urging us to vote for Michael Bloomberg... Leave me the fuck alone! Geez. If I wasn't already planning to vote for Bill Thompson on Tuesday, this invasion of privacy is enough to make me turn against the dictator mayor.
It was one year ago this week that The Smoking Nun started ramping up as a daily destination to 
post whatever rant was clogging my noggin and the rampage of photos that my pocket-size Canon and I conjure. We've all been many places together, through some emotional tirades, triumphs and flops. Thanks for reading, cool cats. We're past the 38,000 hits mark and going strong!
Here's a particularly sad sign of the times. The Advocate, which has been the leading gay news magazine for more than 40 years—and which I have subscribed to for some 25 years—laid off 13 staffers last week, and will cease publication as a standalone magazine immediately. Instead, according to Queerty.com, it will become a 32-page insert in Out magazine, which, itself is taking in its sizable share of water each month.
