Matteo Lane = Sassy + Silly + Sexy

Don't Forget To Laugh

Is it just me, or does your “news” feed feel less like it’s keeping you informed and more like it’s keeping you angry? Between the nonstop three-ring media circus, the glaring absence of justice (or karma), and the creeping dread of headlines you didn’t ask for, everything feels designed to wear us down and wear us out.

Add to that the personal chaos of an upcoming move (yes, the movers arrive in less than two weeks and no, I have not packed everything), and it’s a recipe for emotional overload. Boxes. Bubble wrap. Breaking news. Broken spirit.

So yesterday, I did what any overwhelmed homo alone trying to survive late-stage capitalism might do—I turned off the world and turned on some comedy.

Specifically: Matteo Lane.

If you don’t know Matteo, allow me to introduce you to my new favorite Italian-Mexican gay icon. He’s sassy, silly, sexy—and somehow manages to be insightful too. Whether he’s riffing on Grindr hookups, family drama, or male pattern baldness, his comedy is my kind of good time.

Honestly, I just wanted a quick distraction from the piles of stuff I need to sort and pack. But what I got was way longer and more meaningful: I was able to relax, relate, and release while laughing out loud.

Funny folks like Matteo Lane remind me that it’s okay—even necessary—to laugh in the face of chaos. Tragedy will keep knocking. Life will stay messy. But moments of levity will do a body, mind, and spirit good.

Thanks, Matteo. For the belly laughs. The eyebrow raises. The unapologetic queer joy.

The world may be a dumpster fire—but at least we can roast marshmallows and crack jokes while it burns.

Now, back to packing…maybe.

Keep calm and carry on!
Clint 🌈✌️

P.S. If you’ve been watching the Sean Combs case like I have, I’m curious what you think of the verdict. I’m a little flummoxed, but whatcha gonna do? I wasn’t there. Diddy do it? Of course he did. All of it. And Lady Justice mostly turned a blind eye because he’s a rich “genius.” He’s gonna be doing more time, but I think you can tell how I feel about the outcome. 👨‍⚖️🤬

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ON THIS DAY = JULY 3

BIRTHDAYS

• 1883 = Franz Kafka = Czech-Austrian author

• 1927 = Ken Russell = English actor and filmmaker

• 1937 = Tom Stoppard = Czech-English playwright and screenwriter

• 1946 = Johnny Lee = American singer

• 1947 = Dave Barry = American journalist and author

• 1947 = Betty Buckley = American actor and singer

• 1952 = Laura Branigan = American singer-songwriter

• 1956 = Montel Williams = American talk show host and tv personality

• 1958 = Aaron Tippin = American singer-songwriter

• 1960 = Vince Clarke = English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer

• 1962 = Tom Cruise = American actor and producer

• 1964 = Yeardley Smith = American actor, comedian, and writer

• 1965 = Connie Nielsen = Danish-American actor

• 1970 = Audra McDonald = American actor and singer

• 1973 = Patrick Wilson = American actor

• 1989 = Elle King = American singer-songwriter and actor

EVENTS

• 1767 = Norway's oldest newspaper still in print, Adresseavisen, is founded and the first edition is published.

• 1819 = The Bank for Savings in the City of New-York, the first savings bank in the United States, opens.

• 1839 = The first state normal school in the United States, the forerunner to today's Framingham State University, opens in Lexington, Massachusetts with three students.

• 1852 = Congress establishes the United States' 2nd mint in San Francisco.

• 1884 = Dow Jones & Company publishes its first stock average.

• 1886 = Karl Benz officially unveils the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first purpose-built automobile.

• 1886 = The New-York Tribune becomes the first newspaper to use a linotype machine, eliminating typesetting by hand.

• 1973 = David Bowie retires his stage persona Ziggy Stardust with the surprise announcement that it is "the last show that we'll ever do" on the last day of the Ziggy Stardust Tour.

• 1981 = “Rare Cancer Seen In 41 Homosexuals” is the first story in The New York Times about the mysterious disease that will later be named AIDS. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention initially refers to AIDS as GRID (Gay-Related Immune Deficiency).

• 2005 = Same-sex marriage is legalized in Spain.

HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES

• National Compliment Your Mirror Day

• National Eat Your Beans Day

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PORTRAIT + QUOTES OF THE DAY

“Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.”
Franz Kafka

“By believing passionately in something that still does not exist, we create it. The nonexistent is whatever we have not sufficiently desired.”
Franz Kafka