Rod Hagen

You're right!....it doesn't work :-( Thanks though :-)

I suddenly find myself NOT going home for Christmas (everything is fine, thank you), so I was trying to knock a couple places off my never yet been-"visit next" list for that week (8 nights). Although I tried (only because when I do do a BIG China tour, it'd be nice to have Hong Kong already under my belt) a Hong Kong and Angkor Wat combo was not an option due to connecting flights. Buenos Aires, iguazu falls and Patagonia is not an option, flights are nearly twice as expensive that week. So...Portugal. I always assumed my first visit there would be in the summer, because even though I am not a beach person, I most certainly am a swim in the ocean for hours person. What would Portugal be like the Week of Christmas, what would I gain by visiting then and what, apart from my beloved swimming in beautiful places, would I lose? THANKS!

none of the sebastians that come up for me are this one. Oh well. I can wait :-)

ok...? Which group?

He's ready. He's just (justifiably) nervous. My guess is it will happen and it will happen soon, and his experience will be surprisingly non-impactful. I will say this to all men who want to do as much individual research on an escort before hiring, you are at a disadvantage now that email is not a thing. In the earlier days of online hiring, before texting, we may have been frustrated by longer, detailed, questionaire-type emails, but if we wanted work, we had to respond, line by line. In the texting-age you MUST keep your questions brief or you will not get responses. Additionally, people (including escorts) are easily offended and at some point asking questions about their health may "make" them defensive and/or non-responsive. So, ask questions here about individual escorts you're interested in, fill in as many blanks as you can to make yourself largely comfortable, BRIEFLY ask the provider what you need to ask, then spin the wheel. Most likely, it will be fine. I wish you a fuckingFantasticTime.

I love this, but that last one makes me think (hope?) it's fake.

Historically, When I've been too young for insurance to pay for a vaccine, I pay extra and get it. As such, I was vaccinated for Pneumonia long ago, as well as Shingles, both well before I was 50. Yes the second shot for Shingles is usually no walk in the park, but it's worth it given how terrible shingles can be. I'm currently too young for insurance to cover my RSV vaccine, but I got the vaccine anyway and paid for it myself, not cheap, but RSV SUCKS! It's too bad that doctors etc. tell young people "you are too young for this vaccine." Often that's not true. You are too young to get this vaccine for free or for a very reduced rate, but you are not too young to get it. You can get it. You can't get the double dose of Flu Vaccine if you are too young for it, but that's for health reasons not insurance reasons. Young people, you absolutely can get the pneumonia vaccine (especially helpful if you have breathing issues already such as asthma, you do not ever want to deal with preventable-pneumonia on top of it), you can get the shingles shots even if you are "too young", and you can get the RSV vaccine, and if you are exposing yourself quite often, why not get the RSV vaccine, despite the cost? RSV SUCKS!!! as I said before

I'm not going to watch, but I did watch the 3rd ep just to see how Nathan Lane handled Dunne. Brilliantly.

I regret never seeing either play

Great thread. For me it's almost a tie, but I think the Journey wins, between the original London production of Copenhagen and the production of Long Day's Journey into Night with Vanessa Redgrave, Brian Denehey and Philip Seymour Hoffman (I forget the fourth actor). Copenhagen was a complete surprise, we knew nothing about it going in (this was 1999, maybe?), but the power of those three actors in LDJiN pushes it over the edge. I have to say there was a WONDERFUL production of Candide at the Guthrie in MSP in the early 90s that was quite remarkable, as well as their Valpone and Dutchess of Malfi and Marate/Sade and, though not nearly as good, their production of The Skin of our Teeth was much more transgressive than the source material. I worked in telemarketing/Fundraising for the Guthrie when I was 20 or so and I had to reassure many scandalized Minnesotans that the Guthrie had learned their lesson and would never shock them like that again. I miss the days when I gave a shit about theater. At least plays are still good to read.

ChatGPT is CONSTANTLY telling me that what I'm asking him to read or translate or summarize is outside his rules, lol.

Just saw this. Hope you had fun. I stayed at the Park Hyatt too. It was fine. I recommend it. The smog was really hard on my asthma, so I appreciated that the PH was QUICK walking distance to coffee shops and restaurants and places to meet your tour guides.

I see in the Trailer that Bret Easton Ellis liked it. That's cool. I hope I get to see it. If anyone finds out where it eventually streams, please post the info here, thanks!!

If you are unfamiliar with Denton Welch, I swear to god you will love him. Such a dear Man. Not like a man at all, even as an adult. One of the most unique writers you'll ever find. John Waters loves him. Many other smart gay writers like Peter Cameron and Dennis Cooper love him. I'm posting this because I just noticed the other day that the two VERY* expensive (I’m so lucky to have purchased them long ago) collections of Denton Welch’s short stories, Where Nothing Sleeps, are now on Kindle**. Contrary to the title, I found the stories most beneficial if I read them right before sleep. Enjoy *Pricey: 503 - Service Unavailable Error WWW.AMAZON.COM **Cheap! 503 - Service Unavailable Error WWW.AMAZON.COM Amazon.com WWW.AMAZON.COM

You are right! Years ago I emailed him after a book signing here in LA, included my SF Chronicle article, and mentioned something he and I had talked about as he signed my, oddball, book (The King of Naples) the night before. I don't think he would mind me posting his response :-) "thanks for writing rod--gosh if i'd known i would have hired you! feeling horny and lonely. thanks for sending me your great essay. care edmund" He called my Brokeback Mountain essay great! Gush :-)

To me? Impossible :-)

Everyone with a successful business has reduced free time for anything spontaneous, including sex and dating, so congratulations! and also, I'm sorry to hear that. Consider starting a relationship with a client. It's not for everyone, but you seem to have a big heart and a high sex drive--Two birds, one stone. Regarding the second impact, are you saying that off-the-clock partners want you to do what you do (top? bottom?) in work? You can always insist :-)

I'm not on this site as much as I used to be :-( So you and i haven't interacted much. Hi Jamie! What on earth do you mean escorting ruins one's sex life?

OR "personal charm and sexual prowess are SOME of the assets the escort has to exploit" Don't limit us Goddamit! (that was my Eric Cartman voice :-)

I'm too out of touch to pick an emoji indicating embarrassment, so I'll just say "thank you, I'm so embarrassed." Oh, wait, where is THAT thread though, if someone can find it, because I want to engage with Jamie over this "Not for sex (tbh it rather ruins your sex life)" (WTHeck?!). THANKS!

Spot on. "Sundry" reminds me of the pertinent story Stephen Fry told of Gore Vidal: "Can you remember a good Gore Vidal story? The best Gore Vidal story I have you’ll probably find unprintable, but it amuses me. I was visiting him in America at one point, and he was coming to England. He said, “I’m debating whether to stay at Claridge’s or the Savoy,” and I said, “The Savoy’s a bit down-at-heel at the moment.” He said: “Yes, I’d heard that. I think I will make it Claridge’s. I am fond of the Savoy, however, for a very particular reason — it’s a literary reason.” So I said: “Oh, is that because of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald staying there in the good old days? Or because Oscar Wilde was there in the 1890s?” He said: “No, no. It’s far more literary than that.” He said: “I was there, oh, some years ago now, and I picked up the Yellow Pages and let my fingers do the walking, as the advertisement said, and found an agency. I thought, Oh, hello, here we go, and the agency duly were obliging and sent a young man to see me in the suite. We had agreed on a sum on the telephone, and we got down to it. At one point, he said, ‘I don’t do that.’ And I said: ‘Don’t be absurd. Of course you do.’ So all went perfectly well, and then I gave him his 30 pounds, and he said, ‘It’s got to be an extra 30.’ I said, ‘I agreed on a price with the agency, and I don’t propose to diverge from it now.’ And he started cutting up rough. He threw an ashtray at my head, which I had to duck to avoid, and so I pressed the bell, which was very handily placed in the wall above the head of the bed. In due course, a floor manager in a swallowtail coat and striped trousers appeared. I said: ‘Could you please remove this young man? He’s being a thoroughgoing nuisance.’ And the young man said, ‘He owes me an extra 30 quid.’ Then the floor manager said, ‘You come with me, young sir,’ and he got rid of the gentleman and I thought no more about it. But two days later I was checking out, and as I was paying the bill, I saw that at the foot of the column of figures it said, ‘Sundries: 30 pound.’ I thought the use of the word ‘sundries’ was inspired, and I have been fond of the Savoy ever since.”3

that link just takes me to his profile. Please post a link to the message. Thanks!

Though not a podcast, if you’re interested in hearing from the performers and directors of the past, I highly recommend these two books Close-Up: Interviews with the Performers of Gay Pornography (The Manshots Magazine Collection) Amazon.com A.CO Directing Sex: Interviews with the Directors of Gay Pornography (The Manshots Magazine Collection) Amazon.com A.CO

Pasolini’s movie was disgusting and beautiful. Not my favorite of his films, but very good and the guy fucking the nuns, that part of the movie was hilarious.

Just read this. Fast paced. Stories a bit thin, but descriptions are beautiful. It would actually be better if the two main characters were gay, but the story wouldn't have sold as well. I wonder if someone's treated it for a movie yet, feels like a movie. The River by Peter Heller Amazon.com WWW.AMAZON.COM