Luv2play

Love it. I’m connected with a small museum and I thought we were small. Hah.

Much worse.

How many casts were made of the Burghers of Calais? I saw the whole group in Calais (naturally) years ago. I think they were in the town square. We had one in Montreal on Sherbrooke Street for many years when I was going to university there but not sure if it is still there. It was outside the Dominion Gallery, owned by Max Stern, whose advice to me, a young collector when he was still alive, was to buy a masterpiece of a second or third tier artist if that was all you could afford, rather than an inferior piece of a master painter (all master painters have second or third rate works). Today, when a lot of art has become commodified, that advice may not always hold when people are prepared to pay for the name, not the actual merits of the work. But if you intend to keep the work and live with it daily, then his advice still holds, IMO.

While I am familiar with quite a few of the museums cited in this thread, one that has not been mentioned is the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, where I studied for 5 years as a young child. It will always be my favourite as it gave me an appreciation for fine art at a young age and an interest that has endured, both as an amateur artist and a collector. When travelling I always try to fit in a visit to a museum but also art galleries selling works. The Montreal Museum is Canada’s oldest (founded in 1860) and has a nice collection of Canadian and international art. In the last twenty years, the museum has greatly expanded and now encompasses a small campus of 5 buildings at the corner of Sherbrooke Street and Ave. de Musee, including a former church which has over 20 Tiffany windows and houses Canadian art. Not having the financial resources of some of the American museums (it is only the 18th largest in North America), they have to be nimble in acquiring contemporary works that are still reasonably priced before prices hit the stratosphere, such as the two J-M Basquiat’s that they purchased when they were priced in the thousands of dollars and not the millions like today. The museum itself is situated in the heart of Montreal, the so-called Golden Mile, a square mile which once housed most of Canada’s millionaires in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Some of those mansions, many of which still exist, housed fabulous art collections but on the death’s of their owners were dispersed (Cornelius Van Horne) or otherwise lost (the J. W. McConnell collection of old masters went up in flames in the 1960’s). Still, a lot remains.

On my visit there over 50 years ago a friend and I got locked in after closing time as we had wandered out into the gardens. As I recall the place was surrounded by high walls and fences. So we had to find a guard to let us out.

As a client, I have stayed in a couple of B&B’s which were gay owned and here I was able to bring escorts in to see me. Usually I stay in large hotels where I can do the same with privacy assured. As a guest in a gay/gay escort owned lodging, I wouldn’t mind sharing common spaces with either other escorts or clients as I am pretty relaxed in the scene. The only reason for wanting privacy in hotels is to avoid embarrassment to others and the awkwardness it could engender.

Or Bed & Head

While I would not want to exploit a straight man who is “down on his luck” by paying him for sexual services, I have always been turned on by the situation which used to prevail in London decades ago when members of the guard protecting the royal family outside the gates of Buck House or other military types made themselves available for sexual favours to gay men who would meet them at pubs in the surrounding areas of London. These types of transactions were seen as mutually beneficial where the providers were lowly paid civil servants, so to speak. This practice went back to when homosexuality was illegal in Britain but tolerated by society as long as you were not caught. If you read about the era, there was a lot of hanky-panky which was relatively safe for the people involved. What was more dangerous was to be a public figure caught “in flagrant” in a public washroom where no money was exchanged. I forget his name but a famous British actor was caught and it delayed his receiving a knighthood by years. Gasp.

Thinking about all the variables in your situation, I think perhaps what you need at this point is a houseboy. Someone cute, nice to have around, attentive to your needs (other that sexual) and keep the sexual connections with those (escorts or boyfriends) you choose to be with, with no strings attached. It’s all the strings and baggage, as you call it, that are major complications and may lead to grief for all concerned. Having someone move in with you under the circumstances you outline is fraught with potential and obvious problems, as some posters here have outlined.

As a frequent client of escorts, I don’t enter into these transactions expecting complete anonymity because as Jarrod said, that is like cruising parks or truck stations. No, I expect “discretion”, which is the foundation of any interpersonal relationship. That being said, I would not want my personal identification posted on a client review site. I am a client on RM and people can see my profile there if they wish. It doesn’t give my rel name or phone number however. Just the fact that I am a client and have had appointments with certain escorts that advertise on RM.

Reading this thread I would surmise that Dillon has carved out a niche in the market that works for him, given his limits and his desire to maximize his revenue potential while operating within those limits. Good for him. He is catering to a segment of escort clients who are not looking for full on sex. Rather he appeals to muscle worshipers and those who enjoy extended contact with a hunk of male pulcitrude who appears to have an engaging personality. Reading his reviews, it seems a weekend at $4000 gets you help in the kitchen, someone who enjoys outdoor activities and someone you can take out and meet others and he will fit right in. This means a lot to some clients looking for the BFE. And it helps that he takes good care of the body he was gifted with by Mother Nature.

Maybe it’s the difference in mentality between the left coast and the right coast. Lol

Where do you think all Latins come from? Italy. And all Latin languages such as Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and French are based on Latin.

Nice looking guy. Too far away. Sad.

Is there a pill for that.

I agree that the public authorities don’t always seem to be in tune with the latest public health experts, especially those in research positions at major universities. I tend to listen more to the latter, as they are free to speak out more so than those employed by politicians. The article cited by you illustrates this point effectively. I’ve been applying my own critical thinking since the beginning of this pandemic, when our public health officials at the highest level were saying back in Feb and early March that it was ok to go about your regular business as we were at low risk as a country in being affected by the virus. We know how that went. Then when they reversed course in mid March, they went crazy about staying at home, to the extent of not going out in the fresh air to get exercise. At that time I gave guidance to people with whom I have some influence to take their children and go out and hike in our beautiful countryside and enjoy the spring weather but to distance from others not in their immediate household. It turned out to be good advice which the authorities finally embraced by summer. Back before Halloween the prime minister was saying if we cancelled that we could hope for a more normal Christmas. I thought, forget it. So now Christmas is cancelled too. I totally get it why the public is tired and confused by what we are told by people in positions of authority. It’s best to use one’s own judgment after studying the situation and being open to voices of reason, whatever the source.

I remember that attempted coup. I think Boris Yeltsin was the mayor of Moscow (or Leningrad);and stood atop a tank opposing the coup leaders. His courage led him to the presidency of Russia but we know how that ended.

I thought it might refer to Finger Lickin Good.

My only big birthday celebrations were on my 40th and 50th. My 40th was a big dinner party at my house with all my friends. Tons of good food and champagne, the real French stuff. They pooled their money and bought me a silver champagne cooler, which I still have. By my 50th birthday, almost all my friends who had been at my 40th were dead of AIDS. I still have the pictures of them seated at my dining room table, little knowing what the future had in store. I went to NYC by myself for my 50th and had a wonderful time, meeting some really nice people at the gay B&B I stayed at and socializing with them. Also hired an escort for one evening. My 60th and 70th were quiet. But this year, in the lull of the pandemic early in the summer, I hired an escort for the weekend to stay with me at home. It was a lovely weekend and he was the perfect person to share the time and experience with me. I’m hoping my birthday next year will be against the backdrop where the vaccine has changed our outlook for the future. So here’s hoping.

Adding another complication, I just read in the NYT this morning that most of California is going into a three week shutdown, where stay at home orders are being imposed and most businesses closed down. Not a great time to be organizing a move from SF to LA.

Lovely. I mean ugh

Having only read some of your posts about your move to LA, it would nevertheless appear to me you are making a big transition in your life both with respect to your career and your place of residence. Each of these changes are major life events in and of themselves. But you are doing them at the same time. As well, you seem to be trying to embark on a new romantic voyage, so to speak. But with various characters. Maybe you’re trying to do too much at the same time. You might be in danger of being pulled in too many directions at the same time. When that happens, some things are likely to get short changed. Feel free to ignore my observations as I am very far away from LA, although I once knew it pretty well.

I’m willing to give a pass to a young man who uses the expression “persay” if he uses it in the correct context and spells it phonetically. At least when he talks, it comes out right. After all, I would be spending my time talking with him, not reading his essays.

Interesting background. I have sometimes lusted after bartenders in gay bars but they always seemed unattainable.

He’s got some good reviews from credible clients. I wonder if the age of 38 is accurate. Still, nice pics.