This is, of course, a serious blog from a serious writer. I don’t give it the attention I’d intended, but when I do point my virtual pen this way, it is for some dire purpose. Some pressing issue. Something terribly important that absolutely demands my chiming in.

But this entry is different. Today I noticed a discarded copy of O magazine and found myself wondering, "What are my favorite things?"

Oprah’s twice-yearly list of her Favorites Things has become an  event of some cultural significance. Manufacturers court her for years, fans salivate in anticipation, and people commit murder for tickets to the tapings of her Favorite Things episodes. Probably cause she gives stuff away. Nice stuff, like cars. And really really really good scented candles.

In compiling my own list, I wonder if it's necessary that all my favorite things be tangible objects. Must it be actual stuff that can be bought and sold? Noting that 26 of my facebook friends like 'Music' and that many who like 'Movies' also like 'Walking', I figure pretty much anything goes. Of course, I am not giving away any cars.

Or candles. But here it is: The official list of My Favorite Things for Summer 2010.

SUMMER SOUND & VISION:
When I heard opera star Renee Fleming's version of Tears For Fears' 'Mad World' I thought, "Okay that's it. No more cover albums, by anyone, ever." Cyndi Lauper's 'Memphis Blues' changed my mind. I am also digging the retro-cool of Mayer Hawthorne and the latest soul stirring LP from Sharon Jones And The Dap-Kings.

Madonna's hard-rocking 2009 live version of Borderline. When my Guy keeps pushing my love, I get on the treadmill and work it out to this. “Just try to understand: I’ve given all I can...MOTHERFUCKER!”  It's a bonus track on the iTunes version of Sticky & Sweet. A related fave: Detroit native, YouTube sensation, P’town celebrity, and my Slap & Tickle cast mate Aaron Tone performing Express Yourself at a recent Showgirls night at Crown & Anchor. Aaron's star turn comes at 1:40. It brings me endless joy. Also it is hot.

World Cup Football. Of course it is over now. But it remains one of my favorite things for Summer 2010. And
Jason Statham. Just in general.

Montgomery Clift, Katharine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor in Suddenly Last Summer. A hot wet hand-wringer about sex, sanity, and psychoanalysis. Okay the 1959 film differs greatly from the stage production, most notably in that Sebastian's homosexuality is, well, cloaked. And the whole thing may seem rather overwrought to a modern audience. Still it has tremendous style and spellbinding performances. Hepburn's  entrance alone is so outre that Rocky Horror later paid it homage.

HOT TICKETS:
Slap & Tickle  is a sexy and powerful play about how drugs, politics, HIV and the internet have changed the sexual and emotional landscape for gay American men over the last twenty-five years. Set in a New York City bathhouse, six actors play twenty characters whose lives intersect in surprising ways. I am very proud to be one of those six actors. You can see my junk live on stage through August 14th at The Provincetown Theatre.

OTHER P'TOWN TIX:Tom Judson's Canned Ham at The Art House. Tom is a multi-talented musical theatre artist who, at the age of 42, found fame as porn star Gus Maddox. This is his one man multi-instrument show telling that tale. It is smart, sexy, surprisingly moving AND he plays the accordion in a jockstrap. ALSO: I don't really like drag shows, let alone lip-synching impersonators, HOWEVER, I had a blast at Post Office Cabaret's ICONS show. Reluctant at first, cast member Dennis Williams charmed me into attendance. This boy is out on Commercial Street promoting the fuck out of ICONS every day. He works his ass off and is probably deserving of a smarter show in a better venue. His Tina Turner alone is worth the price of admission.

Big Dance Theatre's Commes Toujours Here I Stand is one of the best things I’ve ever seen. Now, not content to wait for the world to get its ecological shit together, Big Dance has instituted their very own energy policy. Annie-B Parson and Paul Lazar’s dynamic and very conscientious dance-theatre company has implemented a zero-tolerance policy on trash for its month long rehearsal residency at Baryshnikov Arts Center. Reusable containers, cloth napkins, composting. Brava.

New York Classical Theatre free shows in Central Park. They stage Shakespeare and other classical stuff in public spaces. The audience follows the actors about as scenes play out against an ever-changing backdrop. I saw Richard 3 recently and it was magical. Next up is Much Ado About Nothing.

TASTE IT:
The Leavitt Corporation's Teddie Old Fashioned All Natural Peanut Butter. I’m very picky about peanut butter. I only buy the kind which contains but two ingredients, peanuts and salt. Even so, the taste of the stuff varies widely. Teddie won the Men's Health taste test in every catagory, plus it has a cute bear on the label. Unfortunately, I’ve never seen it outside Massachusetts and I know I’ll miss it when I’m back in New York.

Despite what a certain online interview would have you believe, I do not actually enjoy ice cream very often or all that much. My biggest problem is one you just can’t get around – it's cold. Once in a while I will make an exception for a really exceptional coconut gelato, but I actually prefer Liberte brand Mediterranee coconut yoghurt.  Yes I am comparing it not to other yoghurts, but to actual dessert. It is not as sweet or nearly as cold (though I suppose you could freeze it) as ice cream, and that is part of why I love it. It sounds fancy but I get it at Food Emporium all the time.

Speaking of coconut, I love Natural Hive lip balm from Morgan & McHale. It is all natural, petroleum free, with an spf of 15. And 100% of it's profits are donated to environmental charities. They have other flavors but the coconut is my favorite by far.

GET IT OUT:
Watching nothing in 3D except actual life. Go to a National Park for G-d’s sake. An annual U.S. National Park Service pass will get you into every Park in the nation for about what it would cost to take a date to the movies if you include popcorn and a Diet Coke. And really, do you want to remember this as the summer you saw The Last Airbender?

Reading classics by local authors instead of beach trash. Not that there is anything wrong with a fun read, but this summer bring something a little more serious to the beach. On Cape Cod? How about Henry David Thoreau or Eugene O’Neill. If you’re anywhere on Long Island it’s Walt Whitman. South Florida is Hemingway territory. For the West Coast, Steinbeck and for Gulf beaches maybe Harper Lee or Larry McMurty. Not that anyone will actually be frolicking at on the Gulf of Mexico this summer…

Chipmunks. Just in general. I really like them.

WEAR IT OUT:
I’ve decided to wear as little clothing as possible this summer. (My job actually requires tan lines.) But if I must…

Marc by Marc Jacobs ‘Stinky Rat’ long-sleeve t-shirts. Nice to have when a hot afternoon becomes a cool summer evening. I don’t go to clambakes but if I did, I would wear one. They’re really soft.  Also, one-of-a-kind silkscreened vintage tees from Rogues Gallery  in Provincetown. Actually, anything from RG is hot, including the dudes who work there.

Pinaud Clubman Aftershave Lotion. I like to smell like an old-fashioned barber shop any time of year, but it is especially nice in the summertime, I think.

Hunky guys in nerdy spectacles. Especially if they also have tattoos. Dumb just isn't sexy anymore. I like a guy who benches 250 and reads Kierkegaard.

BUT SERIOUSLY...
Educating and empowering Malawi's nearly two million orphan and vulnerable children. Raising Malawi.
Preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission in sub-Saharan Africa. The Sing Campaign.
Civil rights and human dignity for LGBT citizens throughout the developing world. IGLHRC.

...and having an unforgettably meaningful, creative, transformational season wherever you may spend it. Here's to summertime.