quoththeraven

In 1999, the City of Chicago mounted a massive public art exhibit called "Cows on Parade." It was brought back last year for the 20th anniversary of the exhibition. This year, the closed-due-to-the-coronavirus John G Shedd Aquarium let the penguins roam around and posted video on their Twitter feed.
 
I'm calling it "Penguins on Parade."
 
Here's Wellington
[MEDIA=twitter]1239248971006185478[/MEDIA]
 
and his friends Edward and Annie
[MEDIA=twitter]1239661654629023747[/MEDIA]
 
 
 
The Shedd hosts "penguin encounters" where visitors can get up close and personal with a penguin. Next time I'm in Chicago I will be sure to swing by and "encounter" them.

The Field Museum of Natural History, which is located adjacent to the Shedd Aquarium, posted the following:
 
[MEDIA=twitter]1240286876415799296[/MEDIA]
 
Sue, for those who don't know, is one of the largest tyrannosaurus rex specimens. It was discovered by Sue Hendrickson, after whom it was named.

I did the same. The one who objected, I said, “Consider it a prepaid appointment.” Of course, he’s getting his regular fee and if he protests, I’m calling it an lEaster bonus!” If we see eah othe before July.

Is news about celebrities (who have access to medical resources that working class people do not) suppose to be....inspiring? Forest Gump, Idris Elba and Andy have allegedly tested positive and are healthy. But you don’t think they were plugged up to immune boosting IV’s and had the means to ensure their health stayed in tip-top shape. Meanwhile, the working class people who have been forced to stop working may not even have access to a ventilator in the event they do feel ill. So “inspiring.”

NYC has some tips on safe sex during the pandemic. Remember: Your safest sex partner is you.
 
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/imm/covid-sex-guidance.pdf

Because we don't need that level of detail.

So here's a piece of good news to savor while you are sheltering at home.
 
We are all escorts now. Every one of you gets to think just like the best escorts in the United States do. Congratulations!
 
I'm posting this partly in response to two things: the thread on whether escorts websites should voluntarily shut down, and the announcement of the cancellation of the Palm Springs pool party.
 
I don't want to weigh in directly on whether escort websites should voluntarily shut down. Other than to say that the question pretty much answers itself. I think we all know what the word voluntary means. It's a decision to be made by the people who run those websites.
 
The analogy of the restaurant on that thread was a good one. There are two decisions being made: one by the restaurant owner, and one by the customer. If customers don't come, restaurants won't stay open. That is what is happening to restaurants, cinemas, and escorts right now.
 
The AIDS analogy was a good one, too. @Benjamin_Nicholas didn't say it quite this way. But we didn't decide to permanently ban sex. In fact, even the hint of a suggestion that the problem was Gay sex caused a huge and very understandable negative reaction. It's very understandable that there would be a similar reaction when we're being told that going to a bar or going to a beach somehow causes a problem.
 
What we did do to contain AIDS is temporarily close bath houses, which later were safely reopened. We did massive public education about the need to change individual behavior until treatments or cures were found. That alone was arguably the single most important and effective thing to do. It probably saved millions of lives globally.
 
The key messages on AIDS are ones we all know. Use a rubber. Don't share needles. The fact that we all know these messages, and most of us practice them, is why they have been so successful. And why you are reading this, rather than in a grave. We can thank the scientists who figured it all out for that.
 
Having a sort of vaccine for AIDS also has changed the game. But that took a long time to develop. Hopefully it will take much less time to develop a vaccine for this virus. Until then, a lot of this comes down to individual responsibility. It's important to understand what keeps us safe, and observe those rules.
 
For that reason, we are all escorts now. For 18 years or so I lived with the knowledge that the next client I met could infect me with something nasty I didn't want to have, or share with others. Having sex with the wrong person in the wrong way could have killed me. COVID-19 means we are all escorts now. Thinking smart about this and acting responsibly as individuals is what is going to keep us alive. Any escort worth his reputation can tell you that.
 
Morals and money aligned perfectly. Even if I had no scruples about being sick and getting people sick, it was just not a very good business plan. The same applies to restaurants. Before this crisis, restaurants that had outbreaks of salmonella paid for their mistakes dearly, both in their reputation and their bottom line.
 
We're all now in the same situation. Forget about a kiss. The best knowledge on this virus is all it takes to infect someone you care about is to have dinner together.
 
There's another part of the escort ethic that applies. It basically just sucks. But it is particularly important right now, since we are not up to speed on testing and tracing yet. I hated having to call clients to say I had gonorrhea or scabies, and I might have infected them. But I did. And I also got a few calls from public health departments telling me that somebody unnamed had had sex with me and I should come get a test. That will be part of our future, if we want to beat this thing. Until the tracing protocols are set up, I know my plan. I plan to stay negative to COVID-19. And if I do turn positive, I'll tell anyone I think I likely exposed.
 
To be honest, I had a morally relative view of that. There were people I definitely called, because I'd had sex with them very recently. I knew that as much as it's a shitty call to get, they would hopefully end up appreciating the warning. The client that I met only once, and a week before I knew I had the clap, didn't get a call. I figured it was very unlikely I infected him. Maybe I rationalized, but I figured the cost of having him worry and have to get a shot he probably didn't need wasn't worth it. Once tracing protocols are set up, there will be clear recommended guidelines for this with COVID-19. Health professionals will follow them. For the time being, anyone unfortunate enough to be infected can choose whether to follow them voluntarily and inform the people you were close to.
 
So all the lessons we learned from AIDS, and all the best practices of the best escorts, apply to this situation. Getting out of this situation as quickly as possible, and as healthy as possible, depends on one thing more than any other: individuals making responsible decisions based on really good information. That's one very good reason why a website like this one is particularly important right now, actually. The bureaucratic jargon is "harm prevention". Escorts know a lot about living - and living well - in a "harm prevention" community.
 
That said, I think we now all realize that we need massive and pro-active government leadership. Back in the scariest days of AIDS it was government organizations like the CDC, or local health departments, that were hammering the public about the need to use rubbers, and not share needles. Right now we are being instructed by the same organizations, and in some cases the same leaders. We are being told to shelter at home, or not have gatherings of 10 or more, depending on where we live.
 
Dr. Fauci, who is my personal AIDS hero, has been very clear pretty much since this started that we all need to hunker down. The sooner we do that, the sooner we can unhunker, and focus on humping again.
 
These are the same people who told us to use rubbers and not share needles. They kept me alive as an escort. I'm counting on them to do it again.
 
Not to sound scary, but reports coming in from Italy suggest that a lot of people in their 30's are ending up in ICU units. Worse, they are getting the respirators that 70 year olds need as a matter of life and death. This virus could come in waves and mutate, just like the Spanish flu did. So it's not 100 % clear that the virus in Italy is exactly the same as the one that has been contained in China. Or that this is mostly a serious personal health risk for 70 year olds, but not 30 year olds.
 
For that reason, I applaud @Oliver's decision. I was observing the discussion happening there without commenting, since I didn't feel like it was any of my business. It is actually probably a good model for decision making. This is a once in a century crisis, hopefully. And it changes by the day. In the midst of that, informed and responsible people can mostly be counted on to make informed and responsible decisions, I think.
 
And speaking of Italy. They are proving that they are all escorts now, too. Buona salute, amico mio!
 

Unemployment is supposed to apply to gig workers and the self-employed, yes, although that's a separate issue from the $1200 stimulus checks.
 
As I understand it, people like me who don't have to file tax returns will have to file one to get the $1200 payment, and it will take four months to get a check if the IRS doesn't have direct deposit information on file. I didn't file or have to file in 2018, and the same would be true this year and going forward. Moreover, I've changed bank accounts twice since I last got a refund.
 
Taxing those payments would be contrary to the point of making them. They also shouldn't count for means-tested benefits, either.

You are your safest sex partner. Masturbation will not spread COVID-19, especially if you
wash your hands (and any sex toys) with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before
and after sex.

 
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/imm/covid-sex-guidance.pdf

I went grocery shopping Sunday morning and they had tape up preventing entry into the produce section directly from the entrance and directing traffic around the adjacent bakery, deli and cheese sections in order to corral everyone checking out into a single line for checkout along one wall far away from the cash registers. There were no explanations, so I thought they were limiting entry (even though no one was monitoring it) until I saw that a line had formed and there was an employee directing people to cashiers. Fortunately by the time I was done there was no line, and it turned out the employee managing the flow of customers was also checking to see if you had more than one item that was being rationed.
 
There was absolutely no toilet paper despite signs limiting purchases (fortunately I'd bought some early in the month and didn't need any) and very little bottled water, but what got me the most was that the 18 pack of large store brand eggs I normally buy for $2 or thereabouts was completely out. I bought the least expensive eggs I saw, which were a dozen store brand brown cage free organic for $2.50. Unsurprisingly, egg purchases were also limited to one per customer along with bread and milk (there were adequate supplies of both, but I use lactose free milk, so I don't know about regular milk). I can already tell I'm going to need more bread, though.
 
The store wasn't crowded, but people weren't always staying the recommended six feet away. (And in some cases it was impossible - the aisles aren't that wide.) If I'm already stopped to get something, please don't stop within six feet of me, for crying out loud!

I went grocery shopping Sunday morning and they had tape up preventing entry into the produce section directly from the entrance and directing traffic around the adjacent bakery, deli and cheese sections in order to corral everyone checking out into a single line for checkout along one wall far away from the cash registers. There were no explanations, so I thought they were limiting entry (even though no one was monitoring it) until I saw that a line had formed and there was an employee directing people to cashiers. Fortunately by the time I was done there was no line, and it turned out the employee managing the flow of customers was also checking to see if you had more than one item that was being rationed.
 
There was absolutely no toilet paper despite signs limiting purchases (fortunately I'd bought some early in the month and didn't need any) and very little bottled water, but what got me the most was that the 18 pack of large store brand eggs I normally buy for $2 or thereabouts was completely out. I bought the least expensive eggs I saw, which were a dozen store brand brown cage free organic for $2.50. Unsurprisingly, egg purchases were also limited to one per customer along with bread and milk (there were adequate supplies of both, but I use lactose free milk, so I don't know about regular milk). I can already tell I'm going to need more bread, though.
 
The store wasn't crowded, but people weren't always staying the recommended six feet away. (And in some cases it was impossible - the aisles aren't that wide.) If I'm already stopped to get something, please don't stop within six feet of me, for crying out loud!

I would imagine this was not done for the fetish aspect; which can be very unhealthy even during non-pandemic times. These attention seeking kids can't do a regular dance or singing challenge to a coronavirus theme?

Any man’s death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know
for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

Until you are rated by someone else as that “anything with a pulse”. And that rate could easily come from a Grindr user or an escort who thinks you are not up to his standards for a client. You don’t even sound like a client. When was that common sense, compassion, respect and consideration for others became scarce human qualities?

Yup, but apparently they prefer the app Poltergrindr... or was that Grindrgeist?

I keep my socks on during sexy time because often times my feet are like ice cubes. Not sexy and kind of a sexy time buzz kill. I keep my watch on cause I have been known to forget it. It's one of those smart watches and not something I'd want to replace at this time.
 
Hugs,
Greg

They've been around for a while - see this post by @quoththeraven : https://www.companyofmen.org/threads/shelby-gash-from-kansas-penis-christmas-light-display.154346/#post-1832330

Keeping one's watch on during sex makes even less sense than keeping one's socks on. I'm not all that worried about the watch, but with a relatively thick metal strap, bonking someone with it while moving one's arm from place to place could be somewhat painful and put a damper on things.
 
Maybe this is a case of displaying conspicuous consumption.

And I am super happy because projects are getting financed that never would be before by people whose stories weren't being told.

I haven't seen (and don't expect to see) any of the other movies that are the subjects of threads, so I thought I'd start one on Parasite, which is poised to be the first South Korean film to be nominated for a Best International Film (formerly Best Foreign Film) Oscar, a category it will likely win. (After years of movies that deserved nomination but didn't receive any.) It's already known for being the first South Korean film to win the Palme d'Or at Cannes.
 
But more interesting (to me, at least) is the possibility that Parasite will receive nominations in such categories as Best Picture, Best Director, acting and screenplay categories. After all, it won Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor from the LA Film Critics, has a SAG nomination for best ensemble, and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay Golfen Globes.
 
https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmacdonald/2019/12/11/sag-award-nominations-make-oscar-odds-even-more-likely-for-parasite/#2bc2c9bd3781
 
What with South Korean pop group BTS (and Super M) topping the Billboard 200, it would be exciting to see a South Korean movie be nominated or named Best Picture in America. (Seeing as the Academy Awards, like the Grammys, are American awards, not international ones.)
 
As for the movie itself: it's about economic inequality. There's a certain slickness and coincidence to the plot that bothered me a little, and there's a tonal shift about halfway through that changes it from farce and dark humor to tragedy. Otherwise it's really magnificent and observant, with a few bonkers characters and some neat cinematography and use of symbolism and dialogue like "the best plan is no plan" (in context, it absolutely makes sense). I wasn't a big fan of the only other Bong Joon Ho film I've seen, the English language Snowpiercer, but this is great.

I've heard of being ghosted, but...ghosts have dating app accounts?
 
More importantly, ghosts have smartphones?!!!

For once I am happy with The Academy's choices. My two favorite films were Parasite and 1917. Both did very well.

Wow, what a night Parasite had at the Academy Awards. All well deserved, I’m so glad I went out of my way to watch it just a week ago!

Yahoo News article about director Bong Joon Ho and Parasite's Best Foreign Film win at the Golden Globes.
 
https://news.yahoo.com/bong-joon-ho-south-koreas-biting-film-satirist-052714504.html

Those percentages aren't hard and fast numbers, which is why I reported the ranges. It makes sense that as they gather more information that some results might be revised. As you can see, my percentage of Korean heritage is much more definite than my European heritage, which isn't surprising considering how much more homogeneous Korea is than Western Europe.