Molly Barnes introduced John Gruen on Friday, who talked of aspects of male friendship and love inspired by his new book of photographs of male couples both straight and gay on this theme. John, whose autobiography was titled "Callas Kissed Me...and So Did Lenny", holds an extremely expansive philosophy on the topic, tempered with a sense of how the male character in modern culture has Ying Yang poles of vulnerability and toughness in many aspects. He celebrates the diversity of people in the US, from the low to the high, one of the highest he ever encountered being Maria Callas, that he persuaded his editor at the New York Times to let him interview. He entertained the famous singer to dinner in her hotel dining room and was invited to continue the conversation in her rooms on a first name basis, an evening which ended with Callas bestowing a light kiss on his lips at the door, whereupon he gave her a huge hug.