What I’ve learned over the past couple of weeks is that I am a good, if painfully slow, retoucher. And scanner. And editor.

The only thing I seem to naturally do with any real speed is write.

Words have a way of falling out of my fingers. And mouth.

Everything else? Well, everything else will take some time.

Scanning old photographs. Cleaning up scratches. Removing decades of dust and fingerprints. Adjusting faded colors until someone’s face looks alive again instead of trapped beneath a yellow haze of time and nicotine. Even organizing digital files becomes a strange kind of archaeology after a while.

I’ve spent the better part of the past two weeks buried in stacks of vintage photos from my friend DJ’s private collection. Some of the images are beautiful and classic. Some are delightfully degenerate and explicit. And some carry the kind of emotional weight that sneaks up on me when I least expect it.

In my mind’s eye, the photos are physical proof that their subjects were once alive and well. That they made art and posed and documented themselves. They are works of beauty and booty.

To outsiders, collections can look like clutter. Junk. Hoarding. Boxes of old ephemera and photographs taking up space in the closet or garage.

But collectors understand something other people sometimes miss:

Objects carry memory. And not just personal memory either. Cultural memory. Community memory. Survival memory.

I think that’s especially true for queer collectors. So much of our history was never considered important enough to preserve, yet was often considered dangerous enough to destroy.

Entire lives existed in whispers, coded language, underground publications, bars, back rooms, independent theaters, and cheaply-printed newsletters never intended to survive this long.

And yet somehow…they did.

Mostly because somebody decided to keep them.

• Somebody saved the flyer.

• Somebody held onto the snapshots.

• Somebody stored the magazines in a closet for forty years instead of throwing them away during a panic, a purge, or a move.

Now here we are, decades later, scanning and restoring fragments of lives that mainstream culture once dismissed as disposable.

There’s something deeply moving about that.

The older I get, the more I realize I’m a collector first and foremost.

My collections are not always particularly organized or even sensible. If they were, that would imply a level of discipline and reason I simply do not possess.

But nearly everything I display around my home carries some combination of nostalgia, place, emotion, or story. Tiny artifacts connected to people and moments I don’t want to forget.

For me, collecting has become less about ownership and more about stewardship.

Temporary guardianship.

I hold onto things for a while. I protect them. I appreciate them. Then eventually they continue their journey with someone else. Or maybe they outlive me entirely.

Either way, the object survives.

And lately, during all this digital housekeeping and scanning and retouching, I’ve started thinking about how many pieces of history only exist because ordinary people decided certain things mattered enough to save.

Not museums. Not institutions. Individuals.

The weirdos. The sentimentalists. The obsessives. The artists. The queer folks with overstuffed closets, filing cabinets, and shoeboxes full of photographs.

Accidental archivists. I’m proud to be one of them.

Thank you for being a friend!
Clint 🌈✌️

FROM THE ARCHIVES

BORN THIS WAY ON THIS DAY

• 05-18 = Charles Trenet (1913-2001) = French singer and songwriter 🌈

• 05-18 = Don Bachardy (1934- ) = American portrait artist 🌈

• 05-18 = Felicia Pearson (1980- ) = American actor, author and rapper 🌈

• 05-18 = John Koch (1909-1978) = American artist 🌈

• 05-18 = Miriam Margolyes (1941- ) = English-Australian actor and voice artist 🌈

• 05-18 = Patrick Dennis (1921-1976) = American author 🌈

• 05-18 = Pierre Balmain (1914-1982) = French fashion designer 🌈

MAN CRUSHES OF THE DAY

EXPLORING THE LOVE LETTERS OF
CHRISTOPHER ISHERWOOD AND DON BACHARDY
(The Met)

After several false starts, I finally found the best way to scan my friend DJ’s sprawling collection of vintage beefcake, erotica, and porn.

And when I say sprawling, I mean it. From the 1950s to the 1990s. Mostly earlier.

I originally thought there were maybe a hundred images in the stack. Turns out, there were well over two hundred. Some glossy. Some faded. Some curled at the corners from decades of handling and hiding. Tiny frozen moments from another era.

Most of these photos are at least a decade older than I am.

Which means the process has become about more than simply scanning. It’s become about restoring too. Dust removal. Scratch repair. Cleaning up fingerprints, debris, and the wear that happens over time. Every image needs a little love before it can fully breathe again…without distrations.

So guess what I’ll be doing today? Photo retouching and video editing!

Honestly, there’s something strangely calming about sitting quietly with these photographs, zooming in close, fixing imperfections one speck at a time. It feels less like editing and more like preservation.

Here are a few of my Substack-friendly favorites…so far:

Keep calm and appreciate on!
Clint 🌈✌️

P.S. For those who enjoy even more skin, keep an eye on my Bluesky later today. Some uncensored, full-monty photos are on the way, y’all!

FROM THE ARCHIVES

BORN THIS WAY ON THIS DAY

• 05-11 = Bernice Bing (1936-1998) = American artist 🌈

• 05-11 = Christopher Bailey (1971- ) = English fashion designer 🌈

• 05-11 = Dick Leitsch (1935-2018) = American activist 🌈

• 05-11 = Eleanor Butler (1739-1829) = Irish aristocrat and socialite 🌈

• 05-11 = Salvador Dali (1904-1989) = Spanish artist 🌈

• 05-11 = Sarah Ponsonby (1755-1831) = Irish aristocrat and socialite 🌈

• 05-11 = Valentino Garavani (1932-2026 ) = Italian fashion designer 🌈

MAN CRUSH(ES) OF THE DAY

“Have no fear of perfection. You’ll never reach it.”
Salvador Dali

“There are only three things I can do - make a dress, decorate a house, and entertain people.”
Valentino Garavani

After months of cussing and discussing vintage gay erotica with my old friend DJ, he finally offered to loan me some of the latest additions to his private collection.

Of course, I said yes.

When we met up yesterday, he didn’t just bring a piece or two. He showed up with two bags full of 4x5 and 5x7 prints. Easily a hundred photos, worth thousands of dollars. Not the kind of haul you casually toss into a tote bag. Holding them felt like holding frozen moments of art and history all at once.

A lot of the models are unfamiliar to me. Same with the photographers, when they were labeled at all. Which, if you know me, only makes this loan even better. The thrill isn’t just in the image. It’s in the discovery. The research rabbit holes. The slow unraveling of who, where, and when. If possible.

There’s also something about the prints themselves. Knowing they’ve lived other lives before landing with me. Passed through hands, hidden in drawers, tucked into portfolios, maybe even forgotten for a time. And now, somehow, they’ve found their way back into the light.

Over the coming days and weeks, I’ll be scanning and sharing what I can, when I can.

If you enjoy a little mystery, a slow reveal, the tease of not knowing what’s coming next, I’ll be posting selections here on Substack. I already have ideas for a few montages, small curated moments pulled from the stacks.

For those who prefer things a bit less restrained, I’ll be sharing additional, full monty images over on Bluesky.

But back to DJ.

I don’t take it lightly that he trusts me with this. These aren’t just photos. They’re fragments of queer history. Artifacts from a time when desire had to be coded, hidden, or quietly circulated. There’s courage in that. Beauty in it. And yes, plenty of unapologetic flesh.

DJ shares that belief. That this work deserves to be seen, appreciated, and preserved. Not locked away in boxes where no one gets to experience it.

And who is DJ, exactly?

First and foremost, he’s my forever friend. He’s also a former lover and longtime partner-in-crime. A true pain in the ass and fellow Texan, DJ is someone who’s taught me more than I’ll ever admit. He has an exceptional eye, exquisite taste, and a deep respect for the past. He works in antiques and estate sales, which gives him a knack for finding what others overlook, don’t understand, or fail to value until it’s too late.

Then there’s his personal art and photo collection. Carefully collected and curated. A seemingly motley mix of artifacts and ephemera that say as much about him as it does about the eras it represents.

One of these days, maybe he’ll let me dive deeper into his collection.

If he does, you already know I’ll bring you along for the ride.

For now, I’m feeling very grateful for his generosity.

Keep calm and appreciate on!
Clint 🌈✌️

P.S. Here’s a couple more quick scans to tide you over until I have a chance to scan the rest:

FROM THE ARCHIVES

BORN THIS WAY ON THIS DAY

• 05-06 = Jon Reed Sims (1847-1984) = American choir conductor 🌈

• 05-06 = Mary Lowndes (1857-1929) = British artist and suffragist 🌈

• 05-06 = Noah Galvin (1984- ) = American actor and singer 🌈

• 05-06 = Rudolph Valentino (1895-1926) = Italian actor 🌈

MAN CRUSH(ES) OF THE DAY

“I have been deeply touched by the many telegrams, cables and letters that have come to my bedside. It is wonderful to know that I have so many friends and well-wishers both among those it has been my privilege to meet and among the loyal unknown thousands who have seen me on the screen and whom I have never seen at all.”
Rudolph Valentino

So here they are—curated but unedited—for your enjoyment.

It’s a motley mix of contemporary and vintage history, news, and pop culture.

No themes, no rules—just for the fun of it!
Clint

While researching some footage and photos, I found a bunch of video clips that were too good not the share. So here they are—unedited—for your enjoyment.

It’s a motley mix of contemporary and vintage film, music, tv, and more.

No themes, no rules—just for the fun of it!
Clint

It’s a motley mix of nostalgic film, music, tv, and more.

No themse, no rules—just revisiting some memorable moments once again.

Thanks for watching!
Clint

Domesticated or wild, furry or feathered, these creatures never fail to charm, inspire, and make me smile.

This compilation celebrates the playful, curious, and downright adorable moments that make animals the real stars of the internet.

Get ready to “aww,” laugh, and maybe even shed a tear of joy—because “cuteness overload” is in full effect. Fur Real, y’all.

Thanks for watching!
Clint

MUSIC

• Jonny Easton / Summit

• Jonny Easton / Home

• Jonny Easton / Love Story

• Jonny Easton / Memories

• Music From Uppbeat

“These names: gay, queer, homosexual are limiting. I would love to finish with them. We're going to have to decide which terms to use and where we use them. For me to use the word 'queer' is a liberation; it was a word that frightened me, but no longer.”
Derek Jarman

CLASSIC ART

MUSIC

• Johannes Bornlöf / Friend Or Foe

• Johannes Bornlöf / Waterbird

• Johannes Bornlöf / Be My Always

• Johannes Bornlöf / As I Dream

• Johannes Bornlöf / Corpus

• Courtesy Of Epidemic Sound

“Queer art is as much about starting conversations as it is about making dramatic statements.”
Sasha Velour

CLASSIC ART

MUSIC

• Wendy Marcini / Everything's Ok

• Oakwood Station / In the Peak Bar

• Jonah Aardekker / Waltz for Maybe

• Wendy Marcini / It's Your Smile

• Courtesy Of Epidemic Sound

VIDEO

VINTAGE PHOTOS

MUSIC

• White Bones / Roaming Around

• OTE / Watching the Stars

• Sven Lindvall + Daniel Fridell / Brother Mike

• OTE / Nice Cream

• TAGE / Hit Me With Your Love

• OTE / By the Neon Sign

• Roy Williams / Glory Bound (Instrumental Version)

• OTE / Act Calm

• Courtesy Of Epidemic Sound

In the mid-20th century, long before LGBTQ+ literature filled bookstore shelves or Pride parades marched down city streets, gay pulp fiction thrived in the shadows. These cheaply printed paperbacks—often adorned with sensational covers and coded titles—were more than just steamy reads. They were lifelines.

For many queer readers, pulp offered the first glimpse of desire, identity, and community on the page. Yes, the stories were sometimes campy, melodramatic, or riddled with clichés, but they dared to say: we exist. In an era of censorship and criminalization, simply seeing two men fall in love—or lust—was revolutionary.

Gay pulp fiction didn’t just titillate; it carved out cultural space where none existed. It helped preserve queer history, seeded solidarity, and opened doors for the LGBTQ+ literature we celebrate today. In short, pulp was more than pulp—it was survival, visibility, and defiance bound in paperback.

VINTAGE EPHEMERA

In the mid-20th century, long before LGBTQ+ literature filled bookstore shelves or Pride parades marched down city streets, gay pulp fiction thrived in the shadows. These cheaply printed paperbacks—often adorned with sensational covers and coded titles—were more than just steamy reads. They were lifelines.

For many queer readers, pulp offered the first glimpse of desire, identity, and community on the page. Yes, the stories were sometimes campy, melodramatic, or riddled with clichés, but they dared to say: we exist. In an era of censorship and criminalization, simply seeing two men fall in love—or lust—was revolutionary.

Gay pulp fiction didn’t just titillate; it carved out cultural space where none existed. It helped preserve queer history, seeded solidarity, and opened doors for the LGBTQ+ literature we celebrate today. In short, pulp was more than pulp—it was survival, visibility, and defiance bound in paperback.

VINTAGE EPHEMERA

RESEARCH LINKS

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_LGBT_in_journalism

• https://guides.loc.gov/lgbtq-studies/format/serials

• https://www.jstor.org/site/reveal-digital/independent-voices/lgbt

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LGBT_periodicals

• https://daily.jstor.org/one-the-first-gay-magazine-in-the-united-states

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VINTAGE EPHEMERA

MUSIC

• Waves.mp3 By HoliznaCC0

• RetroSpect By HoliznaCC0

• Morning Light By HoliznaCC0

• Stealing Glimpses Of Your Face By HoliznaCC0

• Quiet Moonlit Countrysides By HoliznaCC0

• Licensed Under CC0 1.0 Universal License

This montage celebrates some of our LGBTQ+ literary legacy.

Before most were brave enough to come out and tell our real life stories, LGBTQ folk were reading and writing fiction. Much, though not all of it, considered “pulp” fiction. These low-cost paperbacks often had some of the most memorable titles and covers!

VINTAGE EPHEMERA

From the provocative to the playful, enjoy and explore the drama that was too hot to handle for your mama...or your papa.

These are some of the themes, imagery, and narratives that shaped LGBTQ representation in literature.