body2body

Yes, I wrote a check last week to a neighbor for $64 to pay for a bottle of Cologne she had picked up for me in France (it’s no longer available here). I used a check to pay my plumber to install a new kitchen faucet. They still have a use for me. At my business, we encourage clients to pay by check. Because we deal with expensive merchandise the credit card merchant fees can amount to thousands of dollars. I’ll gladly wait a few days for a check in the mail.

I love receiving flowers. At home in my desk I have a box with letters, postcards, and cards from people I’ve been romantically involved with. There is one I look at often. Back in the 70s I had a terrible argument with a man I was very much in love with. The next day I came home from work and on my doorstep was a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a note- I love you still I love you now I will love you always He died of AIDS in 1985, but I still have the memory of those beautiful flowers, and the card.

I enjoyed it immensely. I found the story set in the 40s beautiful and tragic, and found in the modern story a number of parallels to my own life, which made it all the more involving for me. I too would recommend it.

A very close friend died in the early 90s of AIDS. He was Jewish and the funeral happened very quickly (perhaps the next day). There was no embalming, there was a simple service, his simple wooden casket was at the front of the room. After the service was finished his friends and family carried the casket up to his grave site and put it in the grave. Then we covered his casket with soil. None of this putting a small handfull of soil on the casket, we used shovels and completely covered the casket. Then everyone went back to his house. It was very direct and honest. There was a sense of finality in the participation of the mourners that I had never experienced before. I preferred it to the Christian services I have attended with the embalmed bodies often displayed and made up to appear “life like”. I found that this service really helped me to grieve due to the directness and acknowledgement of the death.

An acquaintance who worked for a Beverly Hills cosmetic surgeon known for his work on men declared that Mr. Cruise was among a group of A list actors who have been coming in for years. They never have anything drastic done, just tweaks ( a little filler in the cheeks, a chemical peel, a laser treatment to tighten the skin). They avoid major surgery, or anything that would result in a noticeable change.

In the mid 80s they did a commendable revival at the La Jolla Playhouse. Sondheim and Furth revisited the score and the book. The opening High School graduation scene was cut among other changes. The excellent leads were John Rubinstein as Frank, Chip Zien as Charley, and Heather MacRae as Mary. The Direction was in the hands of James Lapine. The show was trimmed, and I enjoyed every moment of it. My companion at this performance had seen the original on Broadway, and thought this production was greatly improved but still flawed. This revival happened during a period when Des McAnuff was the Artistic Director at La Jolla Playhouse and they had buckets of money and did many wonderful productions.

I travel in London by Public Transport almost exclusively. My experience has been that the 7 day Travel Card is the best value. It gives you unlimited use of Tube, buses, DLR, Overground, and National Rail. Pretty much everything in central London can be found in zones 1 and 2. A 7 day zone 1 and 2 is £34.10. A zone 1-6 ( which will take you to Hampton Court Palace, Kew Gardens, Windsor Castle) is around £62. You can have your Travel Card put on an Oyster for £5 deposit (that’s what it was in 2016, my last visit). I would buy a 7 day Travel Card for zones 1-2 to start, and during your second or third week if your travels are going to take you further afield you could get a zone 1-4, or 1-6. Here is the zone map https://www.google.com/search?q=london+transport+zones+map&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari#imgrc=epFZ-NBZ1lIkYM:

I have a pair of inexpensive white jeans that I wear frequently. Since I have lived my entire life in Southern California, my attitude towards seasonal attire is pretty casual (bordering on nonexistent). A few weeks ago I went to Sunday Brunch with some neighbors. It was a last minute thing. We were going to be Dining on the outdoor patio of the restaurant. I threw on the white jeans, a beige and navy web belt, a navy and white horizontal stripe long sleeve t-shirt, a pair of white Stan Smith tennis shoes, and a pair of Dark Blue Ray-ban Wayfarer sunglasses. Last week the same white jeans paired with a dark blue and white gingham shirt, a navy shawl collared cardigan, and dark blue suede loafers for a dinner at friend’s. I find them very adaptable. Keeping them clean is really not an issue- throw them in the washing machine and dry them in the dryer. They don’t have to be pressed ( they’re jeans).

Think about what you want to do. For many years I stayed near Paddington at a Hotel that fronted on Hyde Park. I found more and more, that every trip had me heading to the South Bank where the Tate Modern, National Theatre, Old Vic, Young Vic, Shakespeare’s Globe are located. So, my last few trips I have stayed on the South Bank. I stayed at the Novotel Blackfriars (modern amenities , comfortable, 100 yds from Southwark tube, 4 blocks to Waterloo station). I’m going in August for a Theatre binge (ticket prices are fraction of New York ticket prices), this time I’m staying at the recently opened Hilton Bankside, which has great reviews, a popular restaurant and bar. I tend to take day trips during the day (Bath, Brighton, Hampton Court Palace, Stonehenge, Windsor are all easy day trips by train). The National Gallery has an incredible collection, but because it is free it tends to be a mob scene, try to go early. The National Portrait Gallery around the Corner is wonderful. You can see the faces of historical figures, authors, artists. I enjoy it. The Tate Britain for the Turners, as well as some sublime Hockney portraits, and fine examples of Lucien Freud, and Francis Bacon. The Tate Modern (across the river) has a vast collection of contemporary art and a reputation for mounting blockbuster shows. The Wallace Collection is a personal collection of Old Master Paintings, and the finest 18th Century French Furniture (according to the French) in the setting of a London Townhouse. The recently re-done Imperial War Museum is also fascinating. There is so much to do, to have the luxury of a couple weeks to explore London and the surrounding sites is wonderful. Buy a London Travel Card for zones 1 and 2, you can use it on the tube or buses, and it will get you a discount on local train fares. You can buy it here, or in London at any of the major rail stations.

No

My Father always said that the Gibson Cocktail originated with Hugh Gibson, a handsome career diplomat, who held positions as US Ambassador to Poland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Brazil, and Switzerland. He was also a leading figure in disarmament talks between the wars. Ambassador Gibson, wanted to keep a clear head at diplomatic cocktail parties and receptions. Martinis had become popular and Gibson instructed his staff that they were to put only water in a cocktail glass and garnish it with an onion so he could identify his drink. Gibson was good looking and charming and soon it was noted that he drank dry martinis with his special garnish, and people started to emulate him, and the “Gibson” became a popular Martini variant. It also blew the Ambassador’s ruse. I know this is probably apocryphal but it was a good story, and I used to tell it to customers on slow nights when I was tending bar in College.

I would recommend starting from the beginning. This is like a video novel with a complex plot, several story lines, and a large cast of characters. The co-creator, writer, and producer is Jonathan Nolan (the brother of Christopher Nolan) who was responsible for the screenplays Interstellar, The Dark Knight, The Prestige, and received an Oscar nomination for Memento. Trying to jump into this in the middle would be like opening a 500 page novel at page 278 and trying to figure out what is going on. Still I think you will find it well worth the time. Westworld is very entertaining, sexy, violent, and very thought provoking.

The Expanse is terrific, as long as you pay attention. It's the kind of television that requires your attention. The first two seasons were based on the Corey's Leviathan Wakes. I have really enjoyed it an anxiously await every new episode.

It is a common misconception that Fords use Toyota systems in their Hybrid vehicles. Ford independently developed their Hybrid drive system in 2004. Ford subsequently licensed 21 Patents from Toyota, in exchange Toyota licensed patents from Ford related to fuel economy improvements. I have owned both a Prius, and a C-Max Hybrid, and in many respects the C-Max is a much more enjoyable car to drive due primarily to the development of the platform by Fords European design unit in Germany. C-Max uses a 2 liter Atkinson cycle 4 cylinder engine built in Germany. The Battery pack is a lithium ion unit sourced in Korea. This combination is also used in Fusion and Lincoln MkZ hybrid. The Prius uses a 1.5 liter Atkinson cycle 4 cylinder with a Lead/Acid battery.

2017 Vehicle Sales Figures- 1. Ford F-150 878,000 units 2. Chevy Silverado 568,000 units 3. Ram Truck 501,000 units 4. Toyota RAV4 4o7,000 units 5. Nissan Rogue 403,000 units 6. Toyota Camry 387,000 units 7. Honda CR-V 377,000 units 8. Honda Civic 377,000 units 9. Toyota Corolla 329,000 units 10. Honda Accord 322,000 units With the exception of the Honda Civic, all the Sedans have lower sales than 2016. Six of the top 10 are Trucks or SUVs. Ford was the best selling brand in the US in 2017 (nearly half being Ford F-series trucks). There appears to be a method in Ford's madness.

Back in the 70s my Grandmother had to be on dialysis. There were endless problems with infections, new shunts, and the grind of having to be taken to the Hospital several times a week for treatment. When she got another infection and ended up in the Hospital one more time, she decided that she did not want to continue. She decided to discontinue treatment, which she knew would end her life. I visited Her everyday, we talked and she told me things about her life (her parents took her from school when she was 13 so she could work in a commercial laundry) that I never knew. At the end she became unconscious. I went home and went to bed, I awakened in the middle of the night and looked past the foot of the bed to see Her standing extending her hand, and then fade away. The next day I was told she died during the night.

His was the voice that I awakened to every morning for three decades. Such sad news.

The only O'Neill play I've ever seen staged was "The Hairy Ape" at La Jolla Playhouse back in 1993 when Des McAnuff was the artistic director there. It was a very intense 2 hours with no intermission.

Back in the 70s the Advocate (which was then a weekly newspaper) had classified ads. There were still sodomy laws on the books so no mention of anal or oral, top or bottom were mentioned. A typical line ad would read- Model- GWM- bl/bl 6' 170 Athletic, F/A, G/P, in/out 150/200 555-5555 The F/A, G/P refers to French Active (gives oral), Greek Passive (gets penetrated). No direct reference to sex. You had to call to get more info, and you knew from the phone number what area the gentleman was operating from. No one was called an escort. Until the mid 80s there were no photos or display ads. There were Modeling Agencies, one of my favorites was Brad's Bodybuilders and Wrestlers.

This image reminded me of a story told by an old friend. Back in the late 60s he was on a high school summer trip to Europe. When the tour group arrived in their Paris Hotel, a girl poked her head out of her door and shouted down the hall " Hey, anybody know how man capfuls of Woolite to a Bidet?" Ah, the innocents abroad.

I first encountered a Japanese "washlet" toilet on a trip to Kyoto in 2000. My first impression was that this was a ridiculous extravagance, but after a week of using this wonderful device, I felt like I was being sent back to Middle Ages when I had to leave the washlet in Kyoto.

There is an early scene in The Boys In The Band where Michael gifts Donald, with a can of Hairspray. He comments that it is labeled "control" not hairspray, and the can is marked " For Men, about 37 times on the goddamn can". Donald says "it's called butch assurance", to which Michael replies " they could call it "Balls" and it would still be hairspray". This was in 1968 and we are still dealing with all this masculinity bullshit.

I traveled frequently LAX-BKK for business. My first trip was in 1977 and my flight on China Airlines was LA- Honolulu- Tokyo-Taipei, overnight in Taipei (Mandarin Hotel at the Airline's expense), Taipei- Hong Kong- Bangkok. If I remember correctly I left on Friday night and arrived on Tuesday afternoon. When Thai began direct flights with no change of planes and a 2 hour stop in Osaka it was pretty good and the break in the journey was good. Back in the early 2000's Thai Airways began nonstop service LAX-BKK on an A340-500. The flight was 18 + hours and seemed interminable. I did it twice, and then said never again. I guess others felt the same way. They dropped the service a few years later.

You talked about moving to Las Vegas years ago. I'm so glad you were able to put things in motion to make the move. I hope you will be very, very happy in your new home.

"Ken" might work for a guy into very fem twinks who wear considerable amounts of makeup. When I was in college became friends with a successful female escort. She explained once that 90% of sex took place in your brain. In my many years of exploration I have found this to be true. They might be able to adjust Ken's look, but they can't give him a brain. I'm afraid I want more than a lifelike receptacle.