BSR

While always complaining about their lack of privacy 🙄

I came across a great article about cruise ship retirement that covered the brass tracks of full-time cruise ship living. It brought up some issues I hadn't thought of. First, even if you are a US citizen, I'm not sure you are eligible for Medicare if you don't have a physical address on US soil. Even if you do get Medicare, it won't cover any medical expenses on board or in a foreign country. Second, no pets! OK, that's fairly obvious, but it hadn't occurred to me. Since I always envisioned a pup as part of my retirement, that'd be a big sacrifice. And as @CuriousByNature points out, there are plenty of additional cruise ship expenses to consider. Two of the full-timers live on luxury cruise ships where the monthly costs (don't forget the singles supplement!) far exceed the poshest assisted living centers. Hey, good for them, but obviously very few of us have that option. Even mid-range lines (Celebrity, Holland America) probably cost more than assisted-living. Mainstream lines (Princess, Royal Caribbean) might cost about the same, if you can find a low singles supplement and can max out loyalty rewards. One thing that sounded like less of an issue than I expected was medical care. One of the full-timers is legally blind yet gets by just fine with the ship's doctor and seeing specialists in port. If you're in reasonably good health, full-time cruising can work. Also, there are residences at sea, cruise ships that sell condos for full-time living, but since most of them have yet to launch, not much information on them. Another positive the article pointed out is that some cruise lines do allow you to bring a guest aboard for a day (i.e., escorts!). If I could swing it financially, I'd love to live on a cruise ship, at least for a while, to be able to see the world in comfort, without having to bother with cooking, cleaning, or keeping up a house. I just don't see doing it forever. Either I would eventually tire of the vagabond life, or I would need more care than I could get on a cruise ship.

Denying delivery people bathroom access sounds like such unnecessary stinginess. Yes, the restaurant must have an employee restroom that they could let the delivery person use. And you'd think it would be in the restaurants' best interest to keep delivery people happy given that they rely on them for a good chunk of their business.

Some kids don't learn cursive in school. If they don't learn how to write cursive, how do they develop a signature?

Oops, I misunderstood, my bad. You mean like this? (referring to pic below) Yeah, I agree up to a point. The Russian bodybuilder took it to such an extreme, though, by pumping himself up with a dangerous substance. While I find these face tattoos and extreme piercings quite ugly, the guy in the picture didn't do anything to endanger his health.

To me, there's a world of difference between a facelift or a similar procedure that (hopefully) looks natural and poses minimal risk and pumping your biceps full of a dangerous substance to achieve grotesque proportions.

Wow, what an informative post! I never would have guessed gay(4pay) sex was so available in Morocco. How do you communicate with your Moroccan lads? Do you speak enough French or Arabic to get by? (I doubt many foreigners learn Berber.) Or do the Moroccan guys know enough English? It just seems like the language barrier would be an issue.

Living on a cruise ship would be a zillion times more fun than an assisted-living center. As the article points out, it might even be cheaper. But I wonder about access to doctors. I saw a feature on Mama Lee on YouTube, and lucky for her she's in excellent health. On the rare occasion that she has a minor health problem, the ship's physician can take care of her. But most seniors need much more medical care, for example, the thread about prostate cancer elsewhere on this forum. No matter what course of treatment a man with prostate cancer pursued, he'd have to abandon ship until remission. Many seniors deal with chronic conditions that require a specialist's care, far beyond anything a ship's doctor could provide. But hey, if your health allows you to do it, why not live on a cruise ship full time? Even if you have to abandon the lifestyle at some point, you'll have a helluva good time until then.

The hotel looks great, and the location is as prime as prime gets. After seeing that rather *ahem* impressive photo of your sugarbaby, I know you'd have a hella good time if you were sleeping under the Pont Neuf. But at this hotel & in that location, it'll be a trip you'll never forget. Uh, you will tell us all about it when you get back, right? *pleaseohplease*

"Did you have fun with fingerpainting today?" Hey, it's an icebreaker.

Where are you staying in Paris? Not the exact street address, of course, but what neighborhood, arrondissement? Ever since I found out that the Notre Dame restoration will be done by the 2024 Olympics, I've been daydreaming of another trip.

I just saw this. After completing the Golden Slam, Dylan Alcott celebrated by popping a beer and drinking it from his US Open trophy, LOL

I'm thrilled for you that you found a great connection on Seeking. Gotta admit, though, I'm a little bummed for your SB because it sounds like he doesn't know his worth. I mean, that cock alone ...

"Protegé" sounds so elegant. "Sugarbaby" not so much.

Like so many seniors, my grandmother got to an age that she was going to do whatever the heck she wanted, regardless of what anyone else said or thought. Because grandma was a die-hard Monica Seles fan, my aunt took her to the US Open, where they were delighted to find that handicapped seating was in a pretty prime location, with tickets cheaper than comparable regular seating. During the match, rabid fan grandma kept bolting up out of her wheelchair whenever Monica won a big point. My aunt & uncle noticed people in nearby seats started glaring at them. They asked grandma to stop jumping out of her wheelchair because they feared the people around them thought they were faking. Yeah, you can imagine how much grandma gave a sh*t about that. My uncle started snapping photos every time grandma leapt out of her wheelchair. My aunt cherishes those "busted grandma" photos to this day.

Here is Joan Rivers' response to those who condemned her for the Anne Frank jokes: "Sure I do a lot of jokes about Anne Frank. But when you do those jokes, it makes people remember what happened to her. That process of bringing her story back doesn't have to be a serious one. What I say is all nonsense, but it helps to keep her memory alive." When asked about her controversial jokes about Auschwitz, if there was any subject too serious for her to joke about, Rivers said, "I think that's how we get through life. That's how I get through it. You make people laugh. You laugh, you can deal with it. Done!"

Roddy McDowall was cute even when he looked bored A couple of beach shots with Liz

I had such a crush on Roddy McDowall

To me, the big difference between the porteño and peninsular accents isn't the pronunciation but the inflection. Porteños speak with a lilting, melodic inflection like their Italian immigrant forefathers whereas Spaniards are pretty flat, almost monotone in comparison. I found a scene that captures the difference. In the Spanish series "Physics or Chemistry," a Spanish father has a confrontation with his Argentine son-in-law. Yes, the Argentine pronounces Y's and LL's like "zh," and the Spaniard lisps all the Z's and soft C's, but more noticeable (to me at least) is the very different inflection, the sing-songy Argentine vs. the relatively monotone Spaniard. Dialogue starts at 1m12s:

Aren't suspensions supposed to be confidential? If a member has "misbehaved," perhaps he'd rather not have the whole board know. But I get your point. Unless you've shared your email or something with another board member, the community has no idea what happened to you when you disappear.

Tears of sadness and disappointment, surely, but I wonder if they were also in part tears of relief. While Novak appeared to be managing the pressure of the Grand Slam as well as anyone could, it had to feel like a ton of bricks on his shoulders. Dealing with that day in-day out, every waking moment (Novak might deny it, but come on) would overwhelm anybody, and I can see how being liberated from that pressure could trigger tears of relief. While I'm sad that Novak fell one step short of the Grand Slam, let's put his loss in perspective. If the tennis gods offered anyone Novak's year ("you win the first 3 majors but will lose the USO final, and the disappointment will be devastating"), every single player in the sport would pop out of their sneaks to sign up for that "disappointment." What I found so ironic is that only after suffering the most crushing defeat of his career did Novak get the love from the crowd that for so long he has desperately craved. After seeing Novak give his all (even if had little left in the tank) and his very human response to the loss, I think the crowds will warm up to Novak a lot more after this. He'll never get Roger or Rafa levels of support, but he'll be less villain and more hero to lots of fans. PS: maybe Martina, Serena, and Novak can form the world's most exclusive support group, players who came thisclose to winning the Grand Slam. Navratilova won the first 3 majors in 1984 but lost in the Australian Open (back then the AO was in Nov/Dec) semifinal against Helena Sukova. Serena lost that 2015 USO semi against Vinci, and Novak lost the USO final today. I guess they could invite the Bryans (lost in the 2013 USO semi), Gigi Fernandez & Natalia Zvereva (lost in the 1993 USO semi).

Oh no, with all the disappointment over Novak's failed Grand Slam bid, I almost forgot about Emma Raducanu. She went through 3 rounds of qualifying and won 7 matches to win the title, winning 20 straight sets -- a run for the ages. I felt bad for Leylah Fernandez, losing the final after beating three top-tenners (Osaka, Svitolina, Sabalenka) plus Kerber (who's playing like a top-tenner lately), but Fernandez will have so many opportunities in the future. Her smile during the trophy presentation looked like genuine optimism, not a fake smile to hide the pain. It was a good match, with both teens playing well. A lot of strong hitting, good rallies, and games within the match that could have gone either way (the first 4 games took 28 minutes). I wonder if Leylah was a bit tired after 4 consecutive 3-setters against top-notch competition. She must have been mentally/emotionally fatigued at the very least. Then again, you could say the same of Raducanu, who played 9 matches prior to the final (although technically so did Fernandez because she played 3 doubles matches as well). While most unexpected, Emma's & Leylah's runs were not a fluke or "just lucky." They both have strong games that could keep them at the top of the women's tennis for years to come. It looks like they both have strong teams around them who will guide them right. I'm very curious to see what happens to these two.

It's all in the eye of the beholder. I think this provider is the cat's meow & the bee's knees. That said, am I planning to travel to Peoria Heights IL to pay a $grand for an hour with a straight ("not that there's anything wrong with it!", to quote Jerry Seinfeld) guy who doesn't kiss? Nah, but I still think he's dreamy.

Although the match is sitting on my DVR, I can't get myself to watch it because the disappointment is just too much for this die-hard Novak fan. Granted, Novak played 4 4-setters in the first 5 rounds and a 5-setter in the Zverev semifinal, but I doubt Novak is actually getting old. He moved like a man 10 years younger during many points in the Zverev match. I'm guessing the pressure was just too much. Lindsay Davenport on Tennis Channel said she talked to Mike & Bob Bryan and Gigi Fernandez (all 3 came close but no cigar to the Grand Slam in doubles, which gets a fraction of the attention singles gets) before Serena's Grand Slam quest at the 2015 US Open, and all three doubted that she could do it because the pressure is just too much for anyone to bear. No disrespect to Roberta Vinci, but under normal circumstances Serena could beat her with one hand tied behind her back (even Vinci, in one of the greatest post-match interviews of all time, basically said as much). With the Grand Slam on the line, however, it was a very different story. Mind you, Serena was far more dominant over the competition in 2015 than Novak is today (imo). My heart believed 100% that Novak was going to do it, but my head was saying something very different. Ah well, just getting within one match to the Grand Slam is an astonishing feat, although I imagine that's pretty weak solace to Novak right now.

Wow, he did it! Congratulations to Dylan Alcott! My man Novak is about to go down two sets to love ... it sucks being a die-hard fan sometimes.