Marlfox

I don't know. It's been really difficult to abstain from sex or hiring. It's been two months now without sex and being stuck inside and isolating from others is really starting to drive me nuts. I'll continue to try to hold out as long as i possibly can, but it gets more difficult with each week.

New York is down to 23 pages, so RM has lost at least a third of it’s advertisers there. Also some of those still advertising have the hour glass symbol at the top of their ad which means that they will take future bookings, but aren’t seeing anyone in person at present.

I’m reading 19 Love Songs, short stories by gay author David Levithan. Very good.

Earlier this year one of my regulars was going through a tough patch and asked if I could lend him some money. He proposed to pay it back by monthly instalments. I agreed to lend him the money, but suggested that instead of him repaying me, I have a credit which could be reduced per future visit until the debt has been paid off. He agreed and we subsequently met up twice, significantly reducing the amount owing. Then the virus struck and it will now be some time until we can meet again in person, but I am confident that the debt will be paid in full eventually.
Barolo, I guess it depends on how much confidence you have in the guy.

Earlier this year one of my regulars was going through a tough patch and asked if I could lend him some money. He proposed to pay it back by monthly instalments. I agreed to lend him the money, but suggested that instead of him repaying me, I have a credit which could be reduced per future visit until the debt has been paid off. He agreed and we subsequently met up twice, significantly reducing the amount owing. Then the virus struck and it will now be some time until we can meet again in person, but I am confident that the debt will be paid in full eventually.
Barolo, I guess it depends on how much confidence you have in the guy.

Earlier this year one of my regulars was going through a tough patch and asked if I could lend him some money. He proposed to pay it back by monthly instalments. I agreed to lend him the money, but suggested that instead of him repaying me, I have a credit which could be reduced per future visit until the debt has been paid off. He agreed and we subsequently met up twice, significantly reducing the amount owing. Then the virus struck and it will now be some time until we can meet again in person, but I am confident that the debt will be paid in full eventually.
Barolo, I guess it depends on how much confidence you have in the guy.

Earlier this year one of my regulars was going through a tough patch and asked if I could lend him some money. He proposed to pay it back by monthly instalments. I agreed to lend him the money, but suggested that instead of him repaying me, I have a credit which could be reduced per future visit until the debt has been paid off. He agreed and we subsequently met up twice, significantly reducing the amount owing. Then the virus struck and it will now be some time until we can meet again in person, but I am confident that the debt will be paid in full eventually.
Barolo, I guess it depends on how much confidence you have in the guy.

I'm not medical expert but I don't think your logic follows. HIV and COVID are not closely related. They belong to completely different virus orders. Basically as big of a difference between us and our fellow primates and an armadillo or a dolphin or any other mammal (probably even more so since viruses are so different than other organisms that many scientists aren't even sure if they should be classified as an organism).
 
In addition, HIV belongs to a group of retroviruses that work by copying its RNA genome into the DNA of the host cells it is infecting, so that the host treats those cells as its own. This is in part why HIV is so hard to cure....the virus has literally become a part of the host's own cells. Truvada works by interrupting the ability of HIV to reverse transcribe its RNA into the DNA of the host cell when it is trying to infect it. Coronavirus doesn't infect cells in that way so Truvada would have no real effect on its ability to infect cells.
 
RNA viruses are quite common and most of the major infectious viruses in humans are RNA virus: Influenza, HIV, the common cold, Ebola, Coronavirus, Rabies, etc. I can assure you that in the 3 years I've been on Truvada I have gotten the flu once and the common cold probably a dozen times. Since coronavirus actually is one of the viruses that can cause the common cold, I probably have even been infected by one since taking Truvada. It offers absolutely no protection from them.

Yes, it was very long. Saw it on a chilly Monday night at the Met. Sadly, a lot of seats were empty, even in the Grand Tier. Yes, the choreography was great. Loved how they are incorporating more ballet/dance in opera.

I saw Agrippina last night and loved it. The singing, acting and choreography were all great. I’m glad I got to see Joyce diDonato whose voice is wonderful. Only one word of caution, be ready for a late night. It started at 8 and finished after 11.30.

I visited the Seychelles in 2018. I spent a week in the capital Victoria and a week on a gay sail cruise. The week in Victoria was plenty. I saw most of the main island by public transport and while it’s pretty, there’s not much to do but look at the scenery. There was very little nightlife and no sign of any gay community.
However the gay sail was terrific. There were two catamarans, each with about 10 men on board and we’d sail in tandem and meet up on shore for dinner in the evenings. The islands were picture postcard perfect and I had a great time.

I recently went to the Eagle bar in NYC on one of their jockstrap nights. It was only after I’d stripped down that I realised that the only place to put my money was in my shoe. Taking a shoe off to pay the barman wasn’t the best look! I later saw socks with a pocket in them for sale and have bought a pair in anticipation of my next visit.

As I read through this thread, I had to wonder if its the buyers' market thats changing. Being gay is changing.
 
I found myself in San Francisco last Friday, 1030 pm, and stopped in at a former hangout. A gay bar with maybe 20 people in it on Fri night. Nobhill closed last year. The Castro neighborhood is less and less gay.
 
I started hiring in my late 30s when I was able to afford it. Twenty-some years later, it occurs to me that gay men reaching the income level that permits hiring have a much different attitude about sex. 1) they're much less likely to have repressed their desires. 2) there're grindr-like apps by the the dozen. 3) no longer closeted, gay guys go out with straight buds, and can find a pickup in a mainstream venue. 4) while its no substitute for the real thing, its sooo much easier to just get your rocks off watching something online; and any specific desire or fetish is there for the wanting.
 
5) there is a fascinating cultural shift afoot in our country. While I believe our values are shifting towards more permissive in many ways... societal attitudes are shifting back towards puritanical. I never hid my hiring activities from close friends. I didn't broadcast my exploits to the world, but I told some - even regaled them with tales of pornstar sessions, or occassional scam disappointments. I wonder if a 40 year old guy today would feel differently about the need or desire to hire. If theres a "geez, you need to pay for it?" factor along with some judgment related to anti-prostitution or exploitation.
 
Just random musings... whats happening on the promotional-supply side of the equation may have alot to do with the demand side.

I just met up with him and it was one of the best hiring experiences I've ever had.
WOOF!
He was incredibly passionate and an extremely talented top.
He may trim or shave at times but he had a nice dusting of soft hair on his chest and legs and just a little on his butt.
Totally masculine and natural looking and gorgeous body.

I agree and think he’s attractive.
 
I’ve always taken the approach of not cutting someone down if they are not my type or I don’t find them attractive. Everyone sees others through their own filter and in the end I don’t find being critical of someone’s looks productive.

I can’t report on the Dick Dock, but I was in Provincetown during the July 4 week this year and the town was packed. There were gay men of every age and type. Everyone was friendly and I had a great time. Can’t wait to go back.

After what she did to Joan Crawford, why give Dunaway a shot at another Hollywood legend?

Revised ? Or rewritten ? The first act of that play is set in 1938, when Hepburn was 31. Kate Mulgrew played it in her 40s -- not impossible on the stage -- but Dunaway is pushing 80. The audience will need to be seated in outer space if she has to pass for 31.

He sure is......

Prague

Flight length up to 4hours. Economy. , anything more Business.
 
I even fly Air Asia X as they have lie flat seats for peanuts compared to full service carriers.
 
It's the seat and the space rather than the gourmet food and drinks that's important.
 
I do love a Singapore Airlines from Sydney to London in Business class.

Economy for domestic, Canada and Mexico. Business everywhere else.

Depends.
 
Less then 6 hours?....I have no problem with the back of the bus.
 
Greater than 6?.....at least business class.
 
Overnight?....must be flat.
 
If I can’t afford to abide by the above “rules”?....I don’t go until I can.
 
PS Your aunt sounds horrific. Either everyone I’m traveling with travels
in the same class as me....or I down grade and rough it with them.....
or I don’t go.

In case anyone missed this...
 

 
Seeing this clip of her last curtain call and bow brought back the most amazing memories, a HUGE smile on my face, and tears to my eyes. Soooo amazing. Glad to have seen her perform. Absolutely fabulous!!!

The same applies in Australia where the AU$ is on a par with the CA$. I’ve seen visiting US escorts quote US$300/hour and ask to be paid in US dollars. That effectively means that the client is paying more than $400/hour in the local currency. $400/hour to Australians sounds exactly the same as it does to Americans. Some will be prepared to pay it, but most wont.

Really brilliant article in a recent TO/NY
 
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/a-guide-to-theater-etiquette