d.anders

When I traveled for business, I often pre-paid online. Most hotels allow you to do this these days. There were many meetings/appointments when I did not have time to deal with the check-out procedure, if there was one, and I often used the room for as little as 4 hours. Some of my check-outs were at 4 am, and there was no one at the desk. Everything is about speed and convenience these days. Many hotel key cards are one-time use only. Some can get re-programmed and used again. Hard to tell with post-Covid rules. The days of returning a key have been long gone, unless you're in a special boutique place with fancy furnishings. I always left my key cards in the room for the housekeeper to deal with, as per front desk instruction. As for extra-charges fear, don't use anything in the room that requires a charge. If an accident happens on your bill, a simple phone call will usually fix any error. Most hotels only care about being paid for the overnight. They aren't going to analyze or pay attention to your comings and goings, unless you behave in a peculiar manner. If you only use the hotel for 2 hours and leave, no one at the hotel will know that you left for good unless you tell them, and with a pre-pay, there is no need for after-checkin discussions. It's not like you're going to have lots of luggage and require porter help, unless you're planning to bring in your own sex sling and mount it to their ceiling.

After seeing the preview months ago, I so wanted to see this film. Finally did the other night. God bless 95-year-old June Squibb. She's so lucky to be able to memorize her lines. The movie has some charm, but it's a bit too lightweight and preposterous. It's not easy to come up with good stories, especially comedies, that center around older folk, but at least Hollywood keeps trying.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this film. It is a serious creative effort by Jesse Eisenberg, who also wrote and directed. I've never been much of a fan, but Jesse Eisenberg sure is talented. And he doesn't look bad stripped down to his underwear. The film is well written, offering very difficult dialogue throughout many awkward moments. I found the acting and the directing quite skillful. Everyone seems to be talking about Kieran Culkin's performance, but Jesse's is far more emotional and touching. I almost didn't recognize Will Sharpe (from White Lotus), or Jennifer Grey (from Dirty Dancing). Terrific performances from everyone. Very good casting. Maybe the film resonated with me because I've traveled with family members who could be difficult at times. (Edit) Thank you for merging my post. I thought I did a search, but guess not. And to think I made a post last January. Getting older.

I finally saw Alien: Romulus on Hulu. I can't believe this film made a ton of money and got mostly good reviews. It has an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. I thought the movie sucked, especially when compared to the first two. Mostly bored the daylights out of me. I had no idea who the actors were, and the story, if there is one, was ridiculous. Not a believable minute in this entire film. Not a single scare. I found a cockroach in my building's laundry room more frightening. Can't believe Ridley Scott put his name behind this turkey. And how totally weird and mystifying to bring Ian Holm back from the dead. I guess as long as tickets sell, Hollywood will continue to make stupid shit. I think it's nominated for a Special Effects Oscar, and the effects looked fake and cheesy to me. Oh well.

LOL. It's obvious what he's getting at. My simple point is, there are a million body-positive ways to say why body grooming is an attractive choice. This idiot links a lack of self-respect to being gifted with a smaller cock. People are free to spend their money any way they want. IMO, this is bad, foolish business (unless his goal all along was to only attract big-dicked clients). But even if his goal is too attract only big dicks, it's totally stupid to insult 80% of your potential new customers.

There is nothing "out of context" in the screenshot I posted directly from his website. The words "Face it, no man with self respect wants to look small." are right there for everyone to see and read. To each his own.

Since I hate most everything out of Hollywood, it's quite possible I will hate this movie. I see Critics Choice awarded Demi best actress. That's not an easy feat if the movie is really bad. Have to wait for streaming.

I had forgotten about the effects of Covid, and I'm sure you are quite right. I know several long-time theater subscribers who stopped subscribing after Covid struck. Covid is still with us, even though it's less deadly. Lots of people still wearing masks in NYC, especially among our senior population. No one my age wants to encounter a simple cold let alone Covid. This thinking has to affect ticket sales.

It was never in my vocabulary either. Then I tried a small snack before theater (so my stomach would not growl), and I really enjoyed my small snack with a cocktail after the show. I can't afford to go to the theater very often, so once in awhile it seems little problem to adapt and enjoy the upside. I actually enjoy eating more smaller meals. I'm surprised more shows don't have issues with the fluctuating start times. Customers really have to pay attention now, otherwise they might as well throw their expensive tickets away when they show up an hour late. I'm also surprised the theater producers got the unions to agree on new start times. Maybe union members enjoy getting home earlier?

That's probably true. But here's the ugly truth, experience brings forth the good and the bad. An inexperienced gay guy needs to get smart about the bad, so he can make better choices for himself. I'm all for sexual exploration, but when we're talking about the extremes, I highly recommend an inexperienced guy does his research, like having a conversation with a gay doctor if you can find one (not easy). I have too many gay friends in my age circle (over 50) who are now experiencing serious health issues with their rectums. Some of these guys are in agony, and most people don't want to talk about this stuff. Be careful what you wish for.

Sounds a little too exuberant to me, but it's been a long time since I experienced a sexual first. Or maybe I'm just too old now to get overly excited about anything. When I hear someone mention "unlocking the gates of heaven," I think about death. Not a visit with Simon Suraci.

I tend to like risk takers. I always thought Demi Moore had talent, but went a bit wayward with her choices. I enjoyed her in the Capote Swan thing. I plan on seeing The Substance out of curiosity. I like Hitchcockian suspense.

I watch a few YouTube well known movie critics, and several mentioned this film in their Top 10. I saw it yesterday. It's an interesting prison movie about incarcerated men using theater as a way of coping. Many of the actors in the film are actual members of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) program. Very talented. Colman Domingo is outstanding, and I think he is nominated for Best Actor. The movie is not quite as impactful as Oz or Shawshank Redemption. No nudity or gay themes, but hard core men expressing love for one another in a very touching way. Nice to a see a small movie like this can still get financed and sold.

I did not enjoy this film. I thought the whole thing was a contrived, fake mess. No wonder it got the Oscar snub.

Landscapes can and do change. I'm hearing that not-so-happy members are being more aggressive about reporting sexual activity in saunas and steam rooms, and management is swift to act on it. Not all horny gay men know how to survey the landscape.

Not so fast. The only thing that has spoiled is my very sour take on this show. I revealed nothing about the actual story, in case readers have not seen it yet.

Boy am I having a terrible problem with TV. First, I probably watch too much. Second, there is so much bad shit, it's almost impossible to find anything worthwhile. The last episode (only 6) of Season 2's The Recruit jumped the shark so many times, when the train at the edge of the cliff ran off the tracks, it did a flip in mid-air, belly-flopped onto the water's surface, and then bounced back onto the tracks on the other side of the river gorge. I had no idea that The Recruit was so supposed to be a comedy. I won't go into the absolutely laughable plot choices, but there is plenty written about them on the internet. I was confident that with Doug Liman on the production team that this series might stand up to the hype. Yes, there were eye-roll moments in Season 1, but the writing was crisp and clever, and the premise was interesting. Boy was I wrong. This show turned into a turkey-fest on a dime. Many people are saying that with only 6 episodes, something happened. Lost money? Rushed writers? None of the ridiculous production choices make any sense. Maybe there's info on the inside that will never see the light of day, but boy did The Recruit take a creative bomb. I now feel sorry for the cast.

You also left lucky. A guest pass won't get your membership cancelled because you don't have one, but your name would go on a no-fly list had you gotten caught. The massage therapist may be the risky type, and may not be wedded to the corporate culture that Equinox is, so he may not care about losing his job and being blacklisted from corporate gyms. (The gym culture in NYC is a very small world.) I only know about Equinox sex from a gay trainer friend who works for them, but there are a number of posts on the internet about how Equinox deals with sex on the premises. I'm sure shit goes on, as it does everywhere, but I sure as hell would not want to get caught or reported on in such a strict business-only environment. There are much safer gyms for gay men looking to play.

I agree that Noah Centineo is pulling off this unique character. He is carrying this show. I'm still watching with curious enthusiasm. I see in Season 2 he's fighting more and now killing. Will be curious to see if his body changes with each renewal. LOL. I have some experience with cool straight guys in my youth, so it's my interest as well. I would love to see more cool straight guys on TV, who enjoy being playful and tease-y with their gay character pals.

Not like buying a burger at Wendy's or a shirt at Banana Republic. More like purchasing a massage, a 60-minute haircut, a pubic hair removal treatment, or a visit with your gay doctor or NP. Personal services are typically valued much higher than burgers and shirts. Not all services are the same. In order to survive, some services, especially personal services, require (demand) respect for the customer. The day when respect for a paying customer ends in a Capitalist society is the day that business as we know it ends. I don't know much about escorting, especially female escorting. Since prostitution is old and illegal in America, many of the usual business rules for women sex workers may not apply. Perhaps safeguards are necessary for women, since they are perceived to be the weaker sex, and many straight men go crazy over sex and dominance over their women. I don't know. An open discussion on this topic is good. It's not so simple, or simply limited to "doing shitty things." A bad gay male escort is often boundary-less. He can easily resort to talking shit, dropping all pretense of respect for privacy, confidentiality, and just plain respect for the customer. Guys who are bad at business don't follow any rules, which makes this particular business very bad for us customers. Proceed with extreme caution.

I can't stomach the notion that it will ever be permissible for any seller to publicly rate/judge a customer, the person paying, in any transaction. There may be an appropriate event or method to put a very bad customer in his or her place, but, it's not in public. If a seller chooses to behave in this self-destructive manner, then his business deserves sudden and absolute death. Maybe criticizing customers publicly is a social media concept. Like many things in our newer culture, I can't wrap my old brain around it, and refuse to engage.

I encountered the issue long ago with one of my HE choices, and all it took was one time to know I did not want to endure that ever again.

Not attracted to muscle guys. Prefer naturally toned. It's not about what I think. I'm far more fascinated by what the production team thinks. I imagine most producers in Hollywood want their heroes to be ripped, since 99.9% of those cast are. And when the actors aren't ripped, they tend ad rips and erect nipples to costumes. Noah Centineo is a leading man exception, which is what I find interesting.

Sadly, a very good reason to avoid the business.

Roommates are a no-go for me. That doesn't fit with my definition of discretion or professional. Roommates are more common among the HE types, because those guys mostly don't take the business or the customer seriously.