BSR

A dick? I assumed that was Don King in those gray sweatpants.

While I’m slow-traveling, I’ve been keeping up with the situation back home. Yes, Las Vegas survived downturns like the Great Depression (then a small town, it actually boomed thanks to the Hoover Dam construction) and the 2008 GFC, but this downturn is all of its own making. The appeal of old Vegas was that middle-class tourists could come and feel like VIPs. Sure, you lost money gambling, but pit bosses were generous with the comps. Even when Steve Wynn changed the business model with 1989 opening of the Mirage, visitors still felt like they were getting decent value. Restaurants were pricey, but most were really good. Comped or at least discounted rooms were common, and free drinks were a given. First came the resort fees, which started small and have been climbing ever since. IMO, the snowball started rolling down the hill when the casinos ended free parking. The old-timers said tourists would boycott, but nope they kept coming, just grumbled a bit. That gave the bean-counters the green light to start death by a thousand cuts, nickel $ dimeing visitors with service charges at every turn and even charging a high-roller ($25K a hand!) for a $10 smoothie. Of course, the high-rollers (refusal to comp the smoothie aside) are still treated like royalty, as are high-end business travelers, but according to numerous reports, the average Vegas visitor is treated like sh!t. For a while, the top-tier spending more than made up for the loss of the nurse from San Antonio and the plumber from Chicago, until the desertion of the middle-class became so great that there simply weren’t enough 1 percenters to offset. I’ve heard that the casinos are realizing their error and are trying to lure back the middle-class they so recently scorned. Unfortunately, once you really piss off a regular customer, it’s just not that easy to get him back.

“Generous clients only”

I have to think that shooting a series is more intense than most other workplace dynamics. You’re on set together, forced to interact, and under enormous ratings pressure for 12-16 hours a day, 5 days a week. That’s far more “togetherness” than other jobs. Also, it’s hard to stick to just business when the star of the show constantly blames everybody except herself when things go wrong. No evidence that’s what Linda Lavin did, but it’s typical difficult diva behavior. On one hand, Vic Tayback and Beth Howland lasted all 9 seasons on the series. On the other hand, I wonder if whoever played Flo (or her replacement character) got the brunt of Lavin’s nastiness because that character got the most laughs and fan mail.

https://x.com/swcosguy/status/1964322002438693084?s=61

https://x.com/jimreno6/status/1962375001837019427?s=61

https://x.com/jimreno6/status/1958717753088762154?s=61

https://x.com/hustlerdillonx/status/1962671180235657447?s=61

I noticed that Mr. Philippines doesn’t look Filipino at all. A quick google search reveals that his father is German and he was born in Germany. I wouldn’t be surprised if his Filipina mother were tisay (mestiza) because he looks a lot more puti (white) than Filipino. He’s a handsome guy, which all that matters, but he’s got some stiff competition. Will the pageant be shown via streaming or YouTube? In a moment of weakness, I might tune into the swimsuit competition.

“Flo” did last for more than one season, a 6-episode 1st season and a full 23-episode 2nd season, before getting canceled. I did some googling, and it looks like Polly Holliday might have had other motivations for leaving the series. The premise of her departure from “Alice” was that Flo was moving to Texas, originally to hostess at a fancy restaurant, ended up buying a run-down roadhouse bar. In other words, the door was open for a return to “Alice,” especially since her replacement Diane Ladd (who played Flo in the original movie) left after just 2 years (the series ran for 3 more after Ladd’s departure). Rumor has it that both Holliday and Ladd left because they had problems with the show’s star Linda Lavin.

Definitely self-confident, the guy’s got some serious BDE … https://x.com/the_daily_candy/status/1966579410858836228?s=61

Because I was working nights at the time, I usually woke up really late but for whatever reason that day woke up a bit before 9am. I normally didn’t turn on the television right away but for whatever reason did that morning. When I saw the footage of the first plane going into one of the towers, I thought it was the worst aviation accident in history. Sure, that sounds crazy now, but I simply couldn’t conceive that such an act could be deliberate, intentional. When the second plane struck, oh f*ck, that was no accident. A friend called that afternoon and insisted we get together because she needed to unload, get her feelings out, even though she wasn’t even sure of exactly what she was feeling. We went to our favorite bar, our version of Cheers. The conversations with the other regulars were brief: “Can you believe it?” “No, I can’t.”

Asparagus and red bell peppers, both good for a healthy digestive tract, but I have both often just because I like them. I chop the asparagus into quarters. The bottom quarter is the woody part, which gets tossed. I steam the 2nd quarter for a couple of minutes, add the 3rd quarter for a minute more, then the tips for 30 seconds. Sprinkle a little salt, ready to eat. Yes, they’re super yummy with butter, but I don’t need the calories. The red peppers I just get rid of the stems & seeds and eat them raw. Probably healthier, plus I don’t like how the taste changes once cooked.

Before going, I thought Iguazú was a bucket-list trip, one & done is all you need. But if I’m ever in the “neighborhood” again, I definitely plan on going back. They say the falls are a different experience depending on the weather. The days I went to the two sides, the weather was absolute shyte: cold, raining, windy. I had an umbrella but didn’t bother because the wind made the rain blow in sideways. Even though I’m a total weather wimp, I still stood on the viewing platforms for well over an hour on each side just because I was so entranced by the views. Fingers crossed it’s sunny the next time I go. The bonus of the trip was that I hit it off with my cabdriver, and we ended up going out for dinner and drinks 3 of the 4 nights I was there. He took me to an amazing steakhouse where a 1kilo dry-aged tomahawk was only $50! I didn’t go to a steakhouse in Buenos Aires because they were pricey, but I was so glad I got to try some of Argentina’s legendary beef. If anything, the ribeye actually exceeded expectations, high as they were.

Given that Carlos has already earned $48 million this year (and there’s still a boatload of prize money in the upcoming fall tournaments), I’m pretty sure he can pay for a haircut. Also, many tournaments provide free hair stylists as a player amenity. I’m guessing they were stuck somewhere, too late to find an open barbershop, and Álvaro offered to cut Carlitos’s hair — hey, it can’t be that tough, right? Uh oh …

It’s tough to argue that the waterfalls at Iguazú are underrated because everyone who goes raves about them, but I think “underrated” does apply because not that many Americans know about them. First, a confession, I’m actually not a big nature lover. My idea of enjoying the great outdoors is spending the afternoon sipping gin tonics on a Madrid terraza. I was seriously questioning the wisdom of all the bother of flying from Buenos Aires, getting a hotel, plus since I couldn’t figure out the online visa application to save my life, I wouldn’t be able to see the Brazil side. I lucked out and found a savvy cabdriver who said he could get me to the Brazil side without a visa. It cost me a hundred bucks (the online visa fee is $80, although it’s good for 10 years) but was totally worth it because the views and experience from the Brazil and Argentina sides are quite different. The other must-do is the boat tour near and literally under the falls. I was a mite annoyed that my savvy cabdriver didn’t tell me to bring a change of clothes, but it actually ended up being more fun getting totally drenched. After living in Las Vegas for the last 20 years, where greenery is sparse and water even sparser, I felt like I had been plopped into Jurassic Park surrounded by millions of gallons of gushing water and the lush rain forest. Would I go all the way from the US to Iguazú? No, but it’s definitely worth a side trip if you’re going to be in the “neighborhood” (Rio, São Paulo, Buenos Aires).

My tips are food-related [Gomer Pyle voice] surprise, surprise. The best curry I ever had in my life was in London. I can’t remember the spot, but I’ve had good luck with finding great eats via Google Maps. Every place I tried that had at least a hundred reviews and a score in the high 4s has turned out terrific. I also love afternoon tea. If you search YouTube for best high tea, you’ll get results from super-posh to more affordable. If I could go to London right now, I’d dine at Cambio de Tercio, the Spanish restaurant where Rafa Nadal used to eat every literally single night that he was playing Wimbledon. Apparently it’s so good that even non-Spaniards like Novak Djokovic got hooked. A Spanish restaurant during a trip to London?? Hey, great food is great food.

This is what I don’t get. Most gyms also have a rule that you have to wear a shirt at all times, but if guys go shirtless for a bit to snap some selfies, I’d much rather they do it on the gym floor instead of in the locker room.

There’s a whole studio devoted to Mormon missionaries.

If you want to go down that road, then the 2025 film’s 3 protagonists should be played by Argentine actors. The Argentine author wrote the original novel in the context of his country’s brutal political repression, even interviewed a number of political prisoners to prepare for its writing. The novel struck a chord with Argentines for its themes (amongst several) of political repression and quiet acts of resistance. Despite being banned by the military dictatorship, it was widely read (or as much as a banned book could be) by Argentines, especially those in exile, as an act of defiance, and its popularity soared when the dictatorship ended. Honestly, I didn’t care for the 1985 film, although I’m open to re-watching it today. I just started the novel, which I purchased as my only souvenir of a 3-month stay in Buenos Aires. If an English-language musical adaptation sparks renewed interest in and popularity of Puig’s novel, then I’m all for it.

I saw Brokeback Mountain 3 times in the theater, mostly because of the film’s richness of detail. I like your friend’s theory. I didn’t think of it either, but it makes perfect sense. The mother must have seen the shirt hanging in Jack’s closet all those years and noticed that he never wore it. Likely she never understood the keepsake’s significance, until Ennis’s visit. As for your original post, the article made absolutely no sense to me, nor to anyone else in this thread apparently.

A bit of background on now 2-time US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz: he has 3 brothers. The oldest Álvaro, the amateur barber who travels with him full-time, also wanted to be a professional tennis player but lacked the talent. Carlitos learned how to play from his dad, who is or at least was a tennis teaching pro. Carlos Sr. tried to become a pro player as well but only got to #963, maybe because of lack of talent, undoubtedly at least in part due to lack of resources. It costs a boatload to pay for proper coaching/training plus the costs of travel and other expenses to play the juniors, Futures, Challengers, funds the dad simply didn’t have, nor could he have gotten from the Spanish Tennis Federation given his low national ranking (just #40 in Spain). Carlos Jr. (he prefers to be called either Carlitos or Charlie to avoid confusion with his dad) started at Juan Carlos Ferrero’s academy at 15, thanks to a well-to-do businessman from Carlitos’s small town who set up an “audition.” JCF instantly saw Carlitos’s potential and took him in, I’m assuming on scholarship because a tennis pro with 4 kids is in no position to pay for a tennis academy (which usually costs $8000+ per month plus travel expenses). JCF was so convinced of Carlitos’s potential that he turned down a hell of an offer to coach him. When Darren Cahill was leaving his position as coach of Simona Halep, Cahill approached JCF to see if he was interested in taking over. Mind you, given that Halep was #1 at the time and that the coach usually gets 10% of the player’s prize money on top of a base salary (in other words, when you see the coach rooting like crazy for his player, that passionate encouragement also has a financial component), the position of Halep’s coach would have been very lucrative for JCF. But he turned Cahill down because he had a 15yo who was “really good” and wanted to focus on him. The rest, as they say, is history.

LOL, you gotta wonder how many clients request “this” (pulling out their phone and showing him that pic).

For what it’s worth, 30 states set the age of consent at 16, 7 at 17, the rest at 18 (18 in California where the alleged relationship took place). The age of consent is 16 in most of Australia, including the state of Victoria where Giddey is from. He was 19 at the time of the alleged relationship while the minor was 15-16. In my opinion, plenty of mitigating factors. That said, he was incredibly stupid to (allegedly) have a sexual relationship with a 16yo (I’m giving him the benefit of a doubt that she was “legal” in his mind). But he was quite young at the time, and plenty of 19yo’s do stupid (and far stupider) things. I’m guessing the girl’s and her family’s silence cost him a pretty penny. Lesson learned, albeit the hard way. PS: my inner Gladys Kravitz is a wee bit curious as to how much of that $100 million went toward hush money.

I used to see Matt/Peter at the gym in the mid-aughts. According to Wiki, he would have been in his late-40s at the time, but wow, did he look fantastic! Definitely hotter as a daddy than a dewy-cheeked 20-something. He performed in more than 2,000 videos. Given his physique, I have to think personal trainer was one of the many “characters” he played.