BSR

Two aunts live in an active adult community in FL. You have to be 55+ to buy or rent a home there, but don't ever call it a retirement community because the residents (almost all of whom are indeed retired) get all upset. It's way far away from what I would call "civilization," an hour south of Orlando, with not much in the area outside the gates except a good hospital. Otherwise it's all big box stores & fast food restaurants. But within the community, they have every activity imaginable. The health club is enormous & state of the art. They have multiple lap pools, jogging paths, tennis courts, and 36 holes of golf. At the community center, you'll find a club for everything under the sun: ballroom dancing, photography, pottery, bridge, mahjong, travel, sea kayaking, spelunking, you name it. Both aunts have picked up terrific new hobbies (salsa dancing for one, Texas hold 'em for the other) and made so many close friends. They both say that the community is paradise for them. For me? I'd rather live under a bridge. You have to drive at least an hour into Orlando to get to a gourmet restaurant. French pastry shops or Italian gelato? Maybe Orlando, but Ft. Lauderdale would be a better bet. Culture, like the ballet? Drive to Miami. Strippers, sugar babies & escorts? Make sure to fill up before heading out. The worst of it is that I would feel like the Only Gay Man On Earth, at least within the gates of the community. I asked if any gays live there (out of ~12,000 residents), and the gossipy one said she didn't know a single one. Not that they discriminate, of course, it's just not the kind of place a gay person or couple would choose to retire in. I'm glad my aunts are so happy, but I'd rather shoot my toe off than live there.

Nowadays I can't imagine a senior would need to move into assisted living just because they could no longer cook for themselves. With so many meal delivery options (services that deliver frozen meals to your door or UberEats, etc.), a senior doesn't have to cook as long as they can afford those services (and manage a microwave). Yes, they can get expensive, but so is assisted living.

No strippers? No sugar babies? No escorts? Sorry, that's just not a life worth living.

If that's the rate he's advertising, then one of two possibilities: 1) He's not getting much response. If escorting is his primary source of income, then he'll have to lower his rate. If escorting is a side gig, then he might be OK with just a few appointments a week. Or 2) He gets plenty of business, and he's making a great living. Either way, the market decides. Even though I (and plenty of other board members) can't afford his rate, my guess is that plenty of New Yorkers can. If his steep rate is working out for him, good for him!

Hmm, you have to wonder about the guys writing those reviews. A $15 cover charge is a pittance compared to what you'll spend on drinks, tips, and lap dances. Anyone grousing about a $15 cover is probably not the kind of customer either dancers or management want in the first place. I don't know what drinks cost, but if the reviewers are complaining about a $15 cover, then I'm guessing drink prices aren't that outrageous. So I have to fill out a form before I can see hot guys shoving their goody package in my face? Uh ... where do I sign?!

There's a trio of young 6'6" Russians. The first I've ever heard of Medvedev as a sex symbol is this thread. Alexander Zverev (born & raised in Germany, but Russian parents & spoke Russian at home) has plenty of groupies, but he doesn't do it for me either. The tall young Russian who drives me nuckin' futs is Karen Khachanov. (stress on 2nd syllable of his first name, silent "K" in his last name). He's often referred to as the missing Hemworth brother. While he definitely could pass for Chris & Liam's brunette brother, I think Karen is way cuter than his Aussie "brothers." http://www.tennisnow.com/images/2018/February/Khachanov-2-24-18.aspx

If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend a visit. Ogunquit is so beautiful, prettier than a postcard. Because of its large tourism business, there is so much to do, especially given the size of the town (Wiki cites the 2010 census population at 892). I went once for July 4th, more to see the town itself, which I absolutely loved, but I wasn't expecting much of a fireworks display. After all, fireworks are expensive, and how much can a small town budget? Holy zoinks, was I wrong! Ogunquit fireworks were incredible! Even with the big July 4th crowd, getting a good spot was so much easier than fighting the masses on the Boston Esplanade. I just wonder about Ogunquit as a year-round residence. Winters are awfully chilly in Maine, and much of Ogunquit shuts down in the off-season.

Still can't counter my argument. The truth can be so ouchy-painful sometimes, LOL.

You explode with nasty sarcasm because you can't counter my argument. When I pressed you to post the specific Trump tweets about Baltimore and explain why they are racist, you responded with vague platitudes. When I asked @marylander1940 to cite specifics of my bigotry against minorities, he had nothing. If I had a buck for every time a leftist made a bullshit accusation of bigotry/racism, I'd be richer than George Soros. With myriad BS accusations of racism that leftists toss about, actual cases of racism get drowned out. If you truly cared about racism, that would make your blood boil. Yet leftists persist in their pernicious practice, because for all their virtue-signaling to the contrary, leftists care about no one outside of themselves and no cause outside of their own selfish benefit.

What about Ogunquit? It has to be the gayest small town in America. I love small towns because the people are the nicest you'll ever meet. Knowing everyone you interact with makes people treat others so much better. My big problem with most small towns would be the fear of feeling like the Only Gay Man On Earth, but that would hardly be the case in Ogunquit.

Another leftist liar ... I asked you to list all the mean stereotypical things I have said about minorities because I knew you had nothing. And whaddya know, this is your response. Leftists make bullshit accusations of bigotry as a political weapon. Of course, anyone who truly cared about bigotry when never make a bullshit accusation, because BS accusations rob attention from actual cases of bigotry. Leftists only pretend to care about bigotry when the awful truth is the only thing leftists care about is their own selfish benefit. That, dear @RealAvalon , is why today's leftists are the most grotesquely selfish beings in the history of the human race.

List all the mean stereotypical things I have said about minorities. I am relentless in my criticism of leftists, and damn proud of it. As I have proven time and again, today's leftists are the most grotesquely selfish beings in the history of the human race. They deserve to be called out for it.

An example of fat-shaming is a co-worker who used to make nasty jokes about my obesity. When I told her to cut it out, she just continued to make jokes behind my back. Another example, in my opinion, was a family member who told me I needed to lose weight in front of everyone at a large family gathering. Had he talked to me privately, that would be a show of concern. But making a spectacle of it in front of my entire family was just humiliating. I later found out that humiliation was his goal, thinking that such humiliation would motivate me to lose weight. No, it didn't, but it sure as hell changed our relationship. Honestly, the only thing that got me to lose weight was that my knees gave out. I had deluded myself for years that I could be healthy even if obese. Anyone who has suffered serious knee problems can tell you how much bad knees can damage your quality of life. Only when I was suffering from horrible pain did I cut through the denial and acknowledge that "fat but fit" is total bullsh*t. Mind you, I maintained my "fat but fit" delusions long before today's fat acceptance movement. "Big & beautiful" or "healthy at any size" are all over social media, and I cringe when I think of how many people are buying into the lie.

My wildest fantasy is that I marry singer Steve Grand and we live happily ever after. My second wildest fantasy is that I win the lottery and retire aboard a cruise ship. A few (very few) people actually do it, but I wonder if the number will increase in coming years. If you do the math, the cost per day on a standard cruise line (not a luxury line like Crystal) is actually less than the cost of most assisted living centers. I imagine the food is quite a bit better on a cruise ship. The big hitch is that you need to be in relatively good health since your access to doctors, prescriptions, and hospitals is very limited aboard a cruise ship. Forget all that; my big issue would be how to sneak escorts on board.

I find Medvedev a zero on the attractiveness scale but as they say, sobre el gusto no hay nada escrito (Spanish for "there's no accounting for taste"). But I do like that he's shaking up the Big Three. As much as I love Novak Djokovic (I live & die by his results), I find their dominance a bit tiresome. While the NextGen has broken through at the Masters 1000s and the World Tour Finals, the Big Three have had a stranglehold on the Slams for 3 years and counting. Medvedev couldn't quite get it done against Rafa, but he did come awfully close and has the best chance (IMHO) of ending the Big Three's Slam monopoly. Re: Dominik Koepfer, one of the commentators mentioned that he's an absolute beast in the gym. And yeah, wow, does he have the body to show for it.

I agree that fat-shaming fails to get people to lose weight. Speaking from my own experience as a fat guy, I can tell you that fat-shaming never got me to lose a single ounce. All it did was make me sad & depressed, which if anything caused me to overeat even more. On the flip side, I also think that the fat acceptance movement is doing incredible harm. For far too long, I bought into the "fat but fit" myth. Sure I ate a lot, but I also exercised like crazy. For many years I got away with it, until my knees gave out and my blood pressure skyrocketed. I have recently lost weight, down 80 pounds from my heaviest. I have another ~60 pounds to go. It's really hard because I've hit the mother of all plateaus. But I know I have to lose the weight because it's just a matter of time before I die prematurely of a stroke or heart attack, or develop diabetes. My best friend recently died of a heart attack, undoubtedly precipitated by his obesity & diabetes. He was only 47. As much as I loved my friend, I don't want to join him any time soon.

It took me all summer long, but I finally managed to watch all 9 seasons (116 ~eighty minute episodes) of Águila Roja. Holy poopers, did it become my latest greatest guilty pleasure! The plots often drove me crazy because most of the problems the characters face are of their own creation. I could forgive the bumblings of Satur because he's such an endearing character, but the son Alonso almost made my head explode. He was such a bratty, stupid little ingrate that I kept hoping they'd find a way to kill the character off. Frustrations aside, what made the show worth watching was Águila Roja himself. I absolutely loved the 17th century superhero in all his siglo de oro badassery. The actor who plays him is so perfect for the role, and it certainly didn't hurt that they showed off his magnificent physique in plenty of episodes. The beginning of Episode 2, where they show a long and deliciously gratuitous shot off his ass, was enough to get me hooked on the show. I also loved El Comisario, who was so daddy smokin' hot. Starting with Season 7, Rajoy's government slashed the show's budget (the show was on Spain's public TV network). Maybe they demanded a higher price from foreign distributors as well? Who knows why Hulu dropped the last three seasons. Well, keep your fingers crossed that Hulu, or somebody, decides to show the last three seasons. Despite the budget cuts, the show managed to maintain its quality. I watched it on the RTVE (Spain's public broadcasting network) website, with the help of a VPN. It was entertaining enough that I might actually binge-watch the whole thing all over again one of these days.

Who exactly would consider you greedy and guilty of a big ego? I certainly wouldn't. My reaction to any escort who charges $1K/hr is "wow, good for him." Hey, if the market will bear that rate, then he's not overcharging or "being greedy." Hey, we gays are getting a bargain because female escorts are a lot more expensive. "Top tier" working girls get $5000 for an evening date, ~5 hours but no clock watching. Apparently $5/K girls never do hour-long appointments because that cheapens the brand. Now, if there are any working guys out there who charge $5000/evening, I sure as hell want to meet them. How much do you think they'd charge me for a couple of minutes of staring with my eyes as big as saucers?

If you're talking to someone from the Boston area and he mentions going to the spa (or spahr as a person with a Boston accent would say it), it doesn't mean he's getting a facial or dipping into a hot tub. A "spa" for a Bahstuhn guy means a convenience store, especially a mom & pop, as opposed to a 7-11. When I first moved to Las Vegas, I got a bit frustrated with restaurant servers because whenever I gave them cash & said "that's all set," they always came back with the change. You'd think it would be fairly easy to figure out "all set" means "keep the change," but apparently not. My favorite Bostonisms are "bullshit" and "wicked." In the Boston area, "he was bullshit" means he was really angry. Most folks in the rest of the country are familiar with wicked, right? My favorite is when it's used with smart, like "Did you hear Chris got into Hahvuhd?" "Yeah, she was always wicked smaht."

Hmm, people usually take either a budget flight or the overnight train from Lisbon to Madrid. If you book it right, flights can be very inexpensive. If you can't get a cheap flight, the overnight train is pretty reasonable, and you save a night of hotel costs. If you're staying in Madrid, then a car might be more trouble than it's worth. Like most cities, Madrid has tons of traffic and parking can be difficult. I guess a car would be useful if you're planning on day trips from Madrid to nearby spots like Toledo, Segovia, or El Escorial. But even without a car, trains to those places are quick & convenient. As a foreigner, I'd be scared to death to drive in Spain. I knew far too many Spaniards who were in very serious accidents, where someone in the car either died or suffered a permanent injury. In case you're thinking "small sample size!", I looked it up online, and Spain does have an inordinately high number of auto fatalities compared to other countries.

As much as I want to give this father the benefit of a doubt, I have a tough time imagining how it's possible to forget that your two kids are in the back seat. I will allow that his disability might have affected his mental faculties. By all accounts, he was a great father who loved his children. If found guilty, perhaps "criminally responsible" is a better way of putting it, then I don't envy the judge responsible for deciding his sentence.

But will Matt be able to get a full nude/full bar license? I thought such licenses were limited in Atlanta. If Matt's Atlanta endeavor is a go-go bar where the dancers perform in thongs, then I'm not interested. I can see plenty of guys in swimwear at the beach or pool.

I stopped drinking fruit juices for the same reason I stopped drinking soda. A glass of fruit juice can have as much if not more sugar than soda. Don't kid yourself that fruit juices are healthy just because they're a natural sugar. Besides, a paleo dieter will tell you that there is nothing "natural" about the fruit we eat today. Modern apples, oranges, plums, etc. have been so selectively bred that they are nothing like their progenitors, which were much smaller and had far lower amounts of fructose.

First, thank you for your reviews & advice on chaperos (that's Spanish slang for "escorts," probably different in Argentina). A long trip to Buenos Aires, like a month if I can swing it, is on my bucket list, and reading your posts & reviews is so informative. Can I ask a couple of general questions about hiring in BA? You mention that calling from a local number is helpful because contact via Whatsapp with a foreign number automatically results in a much higher fee. Do you think that speaking Spanish with a foreign accent would spark the same "surcharge"? Even if I called from a local number, my accent would give me away as a foreigner in <5 seconds. Obviously, you can pass as a local, but any advice for those of us accent-afflicted yanquis?

I just provided you evidence that Cuba's health care "success" is just a pack of lies. My guess is you didn't bother to read either of the articles I linked. No surprise, nobody ever does. Leftists want an all-controlling, all-powerful government. One of the most effective means by which to control a people is to monopolize health care. To push their agenda of nationalizing health care, leftists are all too eager to be the willing dupes of a totalitarian regime. Just a reminder, in case anyone's forgotten, today's leftists are the most grotesquely selfish beings in the history of the human race.