BSR

I paid $3.59/gallon last night. Gas prices have been going up ~10 cents a week lately.

Tradition dictates that the man save up for the engagement ring to present to his fiance. If she breaks off the engagement, she is expected to return it. If he breaks it off, she can keep it. According to this new 21st century trend of men wearing engagement rings, who saves up for the ring? Far more women today get bachelors degrees than men, and women getting post-grad degrees still outnumber men. It's fair to expect that the woman pays for the ring, and whether or not the man keeps it depends on who breaks the engagement. All that said, I would never wear a diamond ring ... way too pimpy. Pimpy's great if you can pull it off, but I would just make a fool of myself.

I finally saw "My Straight Son," (original title "Azul y no tan rosa" - Blue & Not So Pink) a Venezuelan movie I had been wanting to see since I saw the preview years ago. It's about a gay father (Diego) in Venezuela whose teenage Spanish son (Armando) comes to live with him for a while. With all the chaos in Diego's life -- his boyfriend Fabrizio is in a coma after being gay-bashed -- the unexpected arrival of his straight (and homophobic) son really complicates matters. The movie got a lot of great reviews and won the Goya (Spain's equivalent of the Oscars) for best Ibero-American film (although how many movies compete in that category?). I wonder if some of the raves weren't more for the themes the film takes on -- anti-gay violence, domestic violence, trans issues -- than the film's actual merits. I thought the movie tried to take on too much and that some of the acting was uneven. It also bothered me that the actor playing the 15yo son was 20 at the time of shooting and looked a lot more like 20 than 15. But Guillermo García, who plays the protagonist Diego, was simply brilliant & more than made up for whatever other of the film's flaws. All in all, it's definitely worth seeing. A low-res version can be found on YouTube, but no subtitles. I don't know if it's available on Netflix or other streaming services.

But doesn't the tipping system lower costs for the consumer? For round numbers' sake, let's say a restaurant server needs to take home $15/hr to make a decent living. To net that, his employer would have to pay $25/hr total, $20 to the server (of which he gets $15 after taxes) and $5 to the IRS in payroll taxes. Let's say that in a tipping system, that same server also takes home $15/hr. The difference is that by paying a much lower serving wage, the restaurant owner pays far less in payroll taxes. Because the owner has lower costs, he can pass those savings on to customers (competition & all). The only party that loses out is the IRS. Maybe that's why leftists advocate for eliminating tipping, because they hate that the Almighty State is being denied precious tax revenue.

SA is a site that connects sugardaddies with sugarbabies. The OP is asking about clients whose hiring relationship with an escort developed into a long-term sugar relationship, a bit different from SA. Gotta admit, I'm interested in hearing those stories as well.

When I said that Spaniards were just lazy with accents and such, my phrasing was too harsh. A better way of putting it would be "can't be bothered." After all, these are just musings posted to a Facebook group. Perfect grammar, spelling, and accent marks are hardly expected. I'm sure these same Spaniards are far more diligent in more important written communications.

When I said that Spaniards were just lazy with accents and such, my phrasing was too harsh. A better way of putting it would be "can't be bothered." After all, these are just musings posted to a Facebook group. Perfect grammar, spelling, and accent marks are hardly expected. I'm sure these same Spaniards are far more diligent in more important written communications.

I understand the keyboard issue. When I type in Spanish, I avoid using my laptop because the keyboard doesn't allow for accents or the ¡¿. But the Facebook groups I participate in are almost all Spaniards, presumably with Spanish keyboards.

I understand the keyboard issue. When I type in Spanish, I avoid using my laptop because the keyboard doesn't allow for accents or the ¡¿. But the Facebook groups I participate in are almost all Spaniards, presumably with Spanish keyboards.

OMG, hearing that made my blood run cold.

I hope you got a heckuva deal. Demand for Manhattan commercial space in April 2021 was 27% lower than in April 2020, despite falling rents. A 10% vacancy rate is considered a renter's market. Vacancy is currently at 16.5%. Even if you got a steal of a deal, a 5-year lease is still a big commitment, and even rock-bottom rent in Manhattan must be a pretty penny. So your photography business must be doing pretty well for you to make the leap. Good for you! I wish you all the best with your endeavor. PS: Happy Birthday!

I'm in a few Facebook groups for fans of my favorite Spanish TV shows. Yes, si means if and sí means yes. Yes, exclamation and question marks go at the beginning and the end of sentences. But I can tell you that at least on social media, very few Spaniards bother. The missing ¡¿ doesn't bother me because we don't have them in English. But the missing accent on sí does because I read it as "if." Then again, that's just the tip of the iceberg of the awful grammar & spelling Spaniards on social media are guilty of. The Spanish education system is pretty good, so I'm sure they know better. They're just lazy when posting on social media.

From Wiki: "The 2008 constitution of the Maldives designates Sunni Islam as the state religion. Only Sunni Muslims are allowed to hold citizenship in the country and citizens may practice Sunni Islam only."

Some French accents are incredibly sexy. I have a huge crush on Richard Gasquet just because his accent melts me. If I had my druthers, Richard would never speak French again, only English in that beautiful accent of his.

Michael Ontkean, one thousand percent!

For those who aren't into Borna Coric, this must be getting repetitive, but I can never get enough of the guy

"Pija" in Argentine slang means "cock," but in Spain it means "spoiled little rich girl." I still crack up when I think about my initial confusion. Definitely on my bucket list is a date with an Argentine escort. Of course, I would have to have a phone or video call with him beforehand to make sure he has that "melt buttah" accent. If so, hell, he could read the phone book to me during our session & I'd be happy ???

Some, but unfortunately not all, Argentines have an accent that drives me nuckin' futs. If you've seen "End of the Century," Juan Barberini (Ocho) speaks with an accent that could melt buttah. I am so disappointed when I run into an Argentine who doesn't speak with that accent. I think it might be specifically porteño, but not sure. For example, tennis player Juan Martin del Potro, native of Tandil (~220 miles south of Buenos Aires) doesn't speak with it. Oh, and the accent only flips my skirt in Spanish; when Argentines (porteños?) speak English, I don't get all hot & bothered.

More than a "slight vibration" on my gaydar, LOL. I get (resonant) gaydar pings from him when I see interviews. Although he's ranked well outside the top hundred (currently #283), he gets a lot more attention than most Challenger guys because he runs a very popular tennis blog. Hopefully he's making some money from the blog because I doubt he's making much in prize money.

More Noah Rubin

Noah Rubin plays mostly Challengers

Verdasco didn't sport this look for long, but I much prefer him with a buzz

Wow, Kiefer was shredded! http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4161/1545/1600/capt.vm13905311658.france_french_open_tennis_vm139.jpg

Nicolas Kiefer retired a while back, but he was always one of my faves. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5mxw-sYc_F0/TUcW71azHSI/AAAAAAAAxo4/F3O7zmnSDaA/s1600/kiefer.jpg

Because tennis players need speed & agility, not big muscles, a lot of guys on tour are just too skinny for my tastes. Of course, there are always exceptions, like Feliciano Lopez