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Here is a recent picture of Morrissey shirtless.

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Oh, perhaps today is the one year anniversary of the launch of this website?  We should have thrown a party of something.  Or at least coordinated outfits today.  Cheeers and thanks for reading!

Civilization Progress Report: Happy 152nd anniversary of finding an ancient copy of the Bible somewhere in Egypt, everybody!

Whether you practiced your best Kristi Yamaguchi moves as New York City became iced over or you slipped on the black ice and bruised your ass, it's been a mired wormhole of a week. But take a load off! Have a cocktail! (What's that? It's lunchtime where you are? Then pour out some seltzer and slice up a lime and save the vodka for later.) This week, there were so many wrinkles on the face of pop culture that it probably could've used a shot of Botox.

• On this day in 1859, the Codex Sinaiticus--an ancient, hand-written copy of the Greek Bible--was discovered in Egypt. [Wikipedia]

• The Gossip siren Beth Ditto has a very-incredible EP out soon and the cover art is exquisite. [Popjustice]

Civilization Progress Report: Happy Ho-lidays!

'Tis the time of year when we get emotional and gassy. We're emotional because we think about the loved ones we defriended over the past twelve months because, frankly, they were jerks and New Yorkers, as a rule, can tolerate only a finite number of fairweather friends. We're gassy because the best presents are edible, have high caloric content and may tend to make us toot well into next Tuesday. But you already broke up with your boyfriend and were planning on spending the holidays with your parents, right? Right. So that shouldn't be an issue! Also, speaking of emotional and gassy, have any of you heard that incredible new Mariah Carey song where she's all like, "I promise that I won't forget the milk and cookies!" ? Isn't it amazing? Before I tell you about the million and one ways our civilization will crumble, let's take another look at Mariah's "Oh Santa!":

Marvelous, right? Good. Because sometime in the near future, the FCC may make it so seeing content like that and anything else on YouTube will be locked up behind a paywall or some other ridiculous additional surcharge. And speaking of bleeding Americans dry, nearly 100 U.S. cities are set to declare bankruptcy next year, too! It should be interesting to see what our Commander-in-Chief does to remedy these tragedies. In another case, his administration has finally undone eras of discrimination in the military with the DADT repeal, but on the other hand, Obamacare is getting flipped the bird--perhaps with good reason? Some are also getting ahead of themselves and wondering if this means a DOMA repeal is on the horizon. Oh and there's also the matter of all those tax cuts, which make our economy look something like a series of sloppily tacked-together paper dolls; Peter Feld broke it down very sensibly.

Meanwhile, if you have just come in first-place in a widely-popular singing competition under the tutelage of Kylie Minogue's younger sister and scored a #1 single because of it, don't be a prat and say things like how Miley Cyrus is a load of rubbish and you are a true artiste. Which segues perfectly into another system that doesn't work! Turns out Skype also broke this week. Which is all to say: Technology truly is the final frontier.

Rohin Guha is a Pushcart Prize-nominated fiction writer whose first collection of short stories, Relief Work is currently available for purchase.

Civilization Progress Report: Could we all just shut up for a minute and laugh?

Is it me or does it seem like people are being bitchier than usual for this season? There's no reason for it. We've now accepted the Recession as the shameful, unsightly limp in America's gait. Now it's time for us to readjust our expectations. This is why The Waitresses performed "Christmas Wrapping" and it's also why the Spice Girls performed "Christmas Wrapping" again: So mankind can put a knish in his whine-happy cake-hole and get into the spirit of the season. But perhaps what mankind really needs to do is get into the spirits...in his liquor closet. Either way, just shut the fuzzuzzle up for a minute and appreciate the fact that New York City's sub-arctic temperature means you can look extra-cute on your way to work. So bundle up and walk with me into this week's news-blizzard!

• The Kardashian family Christmas card or a Models, Inc. promotional poster? [Starcasm]

• They have discovered bacteria munching away at the submerged remains of the Titanic. Wonder if they had Billy Zane's career as an appetizer. Zing! [CNN]

Civilization Progress Report: Don't pluck the forbidden rose! & other morality tales

Hello, world! How is everyone? Hello? Is this thing on? No? HOW' S THAT THEN? TOO LOUD? (Okay, Rod, I'll stop.) Anyway follow me down into this week's rabbit hole of kaleidoscopic queerent events! And what a kaleidoscopic week it was. 'Twas the week when we learned that should we wear a color popularized by such foods as aubergines and plums, we could cancel out the altogether-ooky feelings that the Dementors of our youth wrought on us. It was also the week when our fearless leader made us groan again and so...we sought reprieve in foreign rip-offs of animated Disney classics dating back to last century. Grab your CPR dummies and let's get crackin'!

• THE SEX TRADE The domain Sex.com has sold for $13 million. [BBC]

• The Obama Administration has decided a good thing to do would be to block the repeal of DADT. [HuffPo]

• Or not! DADT confusion mounts! [NYT]

Civilization Progress Report: Morbidly obese MTA asks us to tighten our belts some more, orders extra buffalo wings

Hello! It's Friday! And do you smell that! It's the sweat, grime, gasoline, and left-over hamburger chunks of a week, and a world that plans to put you through the grinder again come next Monday! But kick off your orthopedic sneakers and peel off your hole-riddled socks. It's the weekend--but not before peeking into what's making everyone else's lives much worse than yours this week. Yes, it's CPR time and we're all barely floating anymore! Wheeee!

• At times, I am grateful I am no longer at the mercy of a withered media outlet for my living--late paychecks and lack of professionalism notwithstanding, I'd mostly be concerned about developing Toasted Skin Syndrome from having to work on a laptop at all hours of the day--and not having the health insurance to seek out proper treatment. [The Atlantic]

• But then again, no longer being the mercy of said withered media outlet also means missing out on the small joys of life, like speculating in print who might have been John Lennon's alleged boyfriend. [MSNBC]

Civilization Progress Report: Hey, remember that time when America drank too much haterade?

"I hate the world today," opines duchess of late '90s alternative rock Meredith Brooks in her magnum opus, "Bitch." And after this week, I can't help but agree. And while you could argue, "Oh, Rohin, when don't you think that?" I counter that this week, especially, we saw human beings at their worst. But today is Friday and I can't very well let you loose to the weekend with horrible feelings. In that way, this week's CPR is like a black-and-white cookie: One part dark, one part light, and all parts delicious.

• Rest in peace, Tyler Clementi. [The Guardian]

• Don't fail us now, legal system. [New Jersey Star-Ledger]

• And finally, filling in the blanks of this tragedy. [NYT]

Civilization Progress Report: What we can learn from my fever dream where Steve Buscemi holds St. Marks Bookstore hostage at knifepoint

During every major seasonal shift in New York, fives of sixes city dwellers suffer from some strain of cold that is comparable to (and may even possibly be) dengue fever, swinefluenza, or any other pandemic that has, at one point in time, threatened to wipe out civilization (consequently jeopardizing the need for drawn out progress reports like these!) Why just this week, I paced around my apartment fighting off chilled sweats! Two nights ago, I fever-dreamt that acclaimed Ghost World/Boardwalk Empire actor Steve Buscemi was holding St. Marks Bookshop hostage at knifepoint, but that I managed to break away from the imminent hostage situation because I was so crafty. Only, I returned for no apparent reason and then found a three bedroom apartment nestled in the back of the bookstore, with someone emerging from it, unaware that Steve Buscemi had just abducted the entirety of the bookstore at knifepoint. I suppose what I'm trying to say, dear readers, is load up on Vitamin C and if you sneeze, do not sneeze on your friend's eye! I suppose another thing I'm trying to say is that this week, our society dreamt big, readers! But as usual, the fruits of their labors were ultimately no bigger than pine nuts.

• ELLEVATED CONSCIOUSNESS Have fans of Gabourey Sidibe taken a moment to stop crowing about the hundred odd things they dislike about the star's Elle cover to embrace the many things that they do like about it? [EW]

• Several Chinese villagers have thought of a winning survival tactic in the face of a wild boar overpopulation problem: Vuvuzelas and karaoke! [Treehugger]

• This week, Queerty devoted all of its journalistic resources to the pressing issue of big box retailer Target's exclusive record distribution contract with Taylor Swift. [Queerty]

Civilization Progress Report: The Coca-Cola Company misses out on obvious Pride cash-in

Hey New Yorkers, has this week seemed unseasonably chilly to anyone else? Also, does anyone else think paying $2 for a Diet Coke in Chinatown is too excessive, especially when you can get it for $1.50 out in Midtown or $1 out here in Bushwick? I know, I know! And the V train! They're killing it and replacing it with the M train and the M train isn't going to Chinatown any longer, but it is going to Midtown...so I suppose that solves my Diet Coke dilemma, doesn't it? 

Sorry for that extended monologue. On to your weekly compost bin of cultural dregs, then!

• One of the best lines of dialogue to come out of the Prop. 8 trial, which wrapped yesterday: "Do people get married to benefit the community? When one enters into a marriage, you don't say, 'Oh boy, I'm going to benefit society!" [Wall Street Journal]

• SOUTHERN COMFORT A softball team based in Memphis, TN has been banned from a church league because their coach is a lesbian. [USA Today]

• Oh and before we continue, please note that for a brief while, they were manufacturing a brand of Diet Coke that, at least aesthetically (pictured above), seems like it would've been an easy sell during Pride Weekends across the country.

Civilization Progress Report: Courtney Love and Amanda Lepore protest the oil spill by putting together something even more offensive.

Well wasn't this week slightly horrible and painful for all involved? We learned this week that we've got to love our President even if it means that the only thing he can do to British Petroleum is put his finger in their wine and glower at them before turning his attention elsewhere. And if he's going to be this dignified about taking to task an oil giant whose negligence stands a good shot at going transatlantic and contaminating some major European waterways, then perhaps we ought to seek more effective leadership. Like a deranged woman who seems to have forgotten about her daughter and is now posting unsavory photo-ops of herself on Facebook. Empty out your lunches, strap your brown paper bags to your face, and dry heave! It's time for some CPR.

A website for New York homosexuals.

Welcome to your postfabulous life, friend. Free of that overwrought colloquial crutch "fabulous" we're a new type of listings site for the confident gay man.  This is FYF welcomes the postfabulous age with all the requisite trappings of local venue listings, events, and news joined with features of interest and curated links to the world gay web. 

We're your local fag rag,written a bit differently. Instead of screaming at you from the center of the dance floor, we greet you warmly and offer to show you around.

This Is FYF is a conversation about the homosexual lifestyle in New York City. Join us?

Oh, and "FYF"? We're not telling. Figure it out, friend.

Let us know what doesn't work, and what does. We appreciate you taking some time with us.

Duane + Rod

These two blank screens are fyf.