samhexum

I haven't been in a supermarket since covid cases started ticking up in September. It just makes more sense to get things delivered, especially since the store seems to have gotten into the habit of paying me to take free food from them. 2 deliveries ago I ordered 15 2-liter bottles of Coke Zero. The website glitched, and they wound up charging me -2.35 (negative 2.35) on the invoice. (I still had to pay the 75 cent deposit fee.) Then this past Wed, I ordered some Progresso soup; they were having a promotion that you get $6.95 off your delivery fee if you order a certain amount of soup, so I did, even though it wasn't on sale and the regular price is outrageous (I was in the mood for soup). The $6.95 credit was denoted in a bit of a confusing way on the invoice, so I thought I hadn't gotten it. I called customer service and the rep put me on hold to investigate. As soon as he did that I saw the credit, but when he came back on the line he hadn't see it either, so he credited me $6.95 on my credit card. As a result, I got the 3 overpriced cans free, plus $2.63 off my delivery. AND... you earn one point for every dollar spent, and can redeem them in increments of 100 for money off your order. I only had 100 points available, so I redeemed them, and $1.00 came off my order... but the website still shows that dollar as available to be applied to my next order, as well. I may never set foot in a supermarket again...

What's your point?

As Diana Ross sings, “You can’t hurry love” — or, apparently, a stumped “Jeopardy!” contestant. A couple of competitors during Monday night’s episode were supremely embarrassed following their mutual loss during Final Jeopardy. The clue given: “In 2021 at age 95, this singer achieved a Guinness World Record for the oldest person to release an album of new material.” The correct answer: Tony Bennett, who released “Love for Sale” last year with Lady Gaga, earning him the record-breaking title. Unfortunately for contestants Karen Johnson, who put down $7,401 of her $15,400 cash, and defending champion Finn Corrigan, who offered up his whole $11,400 pot, the answer was not their guess of Diana Ross — who is, by the way, just 77 years young. Player Margaret Chipowsky, however, did nail the answer, wagering $9,000 of her $9,800 earnings and bringing her total to $18,800. An embarrassed Johnson later sent her “deepest apologies” to the legendary R&B singer on Twitter for the gaffe. “I didn’t really think you were the answer, but was running out of time and had to put something! ,” she tweeted on Tuesday. Corrigan, who lost everything with his big bet, echoed Johnson’s defense. “Me too!” he wrote. “I knew she was not nearly that old but better to write something than nothing. Just glad we’re in this together hahahaha.” The former Supremes founder did release an album of new music last year, called “Thank You.” She also earned a Guinness World Records title in 1993 with the lofty title “Most Successful Female Singer of All Time” — not too shabby for a woman whose 78th birthday comes this Saturday, March 26. https://nypost.com/2022/03/24/jeopardy-contestants-apologize-to-diana-ross-for-supreme-age-insult/

Thank God we never have to see any of those teens again! I just wish one (or more) had died a gruesome death. The Bhullar storyline has grown on me, other than the teens' involvement.

He is so much more than that. He's a father, brother, pilot, sweathog...

Rachel Balkovec, hired by the New York Yankees as the first woman to manage a minor league affiliate of a Major League Baseball team, was hit in the face by a batted ball during a drill and will be sidelined for up to a week. Balkovec was struck Tuesday. She will not be available for her first scheduled spring training game Thursday with Class A Tampa. The 34-year-old Balkovec didn't sustain a concussion but has facial swelling, the Yankees said Wednesday. She was involved in a hitting drill in an indoor cage at the minor league complex when she was hurt. Balkovec has been instructed by team doctors to rest for the next five to seven days. She will be re-examined after the swelling goes down. "All things considered, I feel very fortunate," Balkovec said in a statement. "The doctors have asked me to be smart about limiting my activities over the next several days, and I plan on following their guidance. As much as I already miss being around the players and staff, I do not anticipate this affecting my role and responsibilities for the regular season." Balkovec is scheduled to manage her first regular-season game on April 8 at Lakeland. Balkovec has broken several barriers on her way to the position. She was the first woman to serve as a full-time minor league strength and conditioning coach, then the first to be a full-time hitting coach in the minors with the Yankees. The Yankees announced her hiring as a minor league manager in January. "The players that I've worked with, whether they like me, they don't like me, they like what I'm saying, they don't like what I'm saying, I do feel like they respect me," she said during her introduction following the hire.

Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have reached a tentative agreement to bring the extra-innings ghost runner back for the 2022 season, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Additionally, they have agreed to expand active rosters from 26 to 28 players this season until May 1. The league’s 30 owners need to vote next week to officially ratify the conditions, but Sherman writes that only a simple majority is needed and the provisions aren’t expected to have any issue passing. Neither development is especially surprising, as reports emerged a couple weeks ago that both were under consideration. The lockout lingered into the second week of March, compressing the Spring Training schedule by two weeks even with the start of the regular season pushed back eight days. The concern is that the shortened ramp-up period might not afford enough time for players to get ready to shoulder a typical regular season workload. By adding a couple players in the early going and limiting the potential for marathon games, the league and union will give managers some extra flexibility in keeping playing time in check. Sherman adds there won’t be any restrictions on the number of pitchers teams can carry in April. MLB is instituting its 13-pitcher limit this year. That rule change was originally slated to go into effect in 2020, but MLB scrapped it in each of the past two seasons due to concerns about overworking arms while teams were facing the possibility of COVID-19 outbreaks on their rosters. That’ll eventually be a challenge for clubs, but they’ll have some extra leeway on the mound for the first couple weeks of the season.

A North Carolina dog has been abandoned after his owners saw him humping another male pooch and feared he might be gay, animal rescuers said. Fezco was dropped off at the Stanly County Animal Protective Services, a shelter in Albemarle, which is seeking a foster home and a new family for the 50-pound dog, WCCB reported. The shelter claimed his owners were aghast when they saw Fezco mounting another male dog — a common canine behavior that is not necessarily sexual in nature, the outlet reported. The black and brown dog, who is believed to be about 4 or 5 years old, is friendly to other animals and people, the shelter said.

Not yet, but... John Travolta is ready to “Grease” the landing. among other things?!?!? The “Saturday Night Fever” star revealed via Instagram on Sunday that he upped his aeronautical credentials and is now licensed to fly a 737 airplane. “A very proud moment in my aviation history,” Travolta, 68, said in a video. “To add to my 747 and 707 licenses, I just received my 737 license, and it went very well, so just sharing my moment with you.” Travolta’s famous friends were quick to congratulate him on his achievement in the comments section, with Mötley Crüe rocker Tommy Lee writing, “Ata boy captain.” “So very cool,” added Donnie Wahlberg.” Travolta, who learned how to fly a plane when he was just 15 years old, received his first pilot license in 1978. He owns at least seven planes including a Boeing 707, Bombardier Challenger 601, Boeing 727 and three Gulfstream jets. Not a bad outcome for a sweathog! Aviation has always served as an escape for Travolta, who even has a private runway for his planes at home in Florida. “Aviation has always bailed me out of anything in my mind that is blue,” Travolta told CBS News in 2008. “I can look through an airline schedule and brochure and cheer up.” Additionally, Travolta has been an ambassador for Qantas since 2002. He regularly celebrates “National Aviation Day” by sharing selfies – taken from 30,000 feet up – with his 3.8 million followers. He should've embraced his baldness years ago; he looks great!

Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko is Hayden Panettiere's baby uncle, a Ukrainian politician and a former professional boxer who serves as mayor of Kyiv and head of the Kyiv City State Administration, having held both offices since June 2014. Klitschko is a former leader of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc and a former Member of the Ukrainian Parliament. He holds a Doctoral Degree (Ph.D.) from Kyiv University's Physical Science Department. As a boxer, Klitschko won multiple world heavyweight championships. Overall, he defeated 15 opponents in world heavyweight title fights, and made 12 successful title defenses. In 2011, Vitali and his younger brother Wladimir Klitschko entered the Guinness World Records as the pair of brothers with most world heavyweight title fight wins (30 at the time; 40 as of 2020). LITTLE BRO:

https://www.companyofmen.org/topic/102274-what-porn-stars-do-you-consider-legendary/?do=findComment&comment=1980381

Catching Up with the Legendary Tom Chase as He Talks the Golden Age of Porn, Embracing His Bottom Side & More December 1, 2021 In the 1990s, there was a smooth and clean-cut boy with dreamy brown eyes, a flawlessly chiseled physique, and yes, an 11-inch endowment that made him the first lifetime exclusive for Falcon Studios. In the 2000s, he reemerged at Colt Studios as a hairy and horny man’s man who loved to take it as much as give it. We speak, of course, of the legendary Tom Chase. Lots of the guys from this golden age of gay porn were hot, but Tom brought something else to the table (and elsewhere). Probably more than any other star of his day, Tom could combine being totally masc and aggressive with actually being tender and loving at the same time. It made for a viewing experience like no other in porn and his award-winning scenes all still hold up today. We are pleased to share that Tom Chase is doing just great and is more content than ever. He’s also still hot as fuck! Tom joined us for a revealing interview about how he’s been since leaving the industry, some memories of his career, and his plans for the future. How has your life been since leaving the industry? What have you been doing for the last ten years? TC: I left the industry in 2010, after making “The Big One” for Butch Bear Studio (now defunct), and I immediately started working on my emotional and psychological self, all of the work I had to put aside during my 20s and 30s in order to make quality porn. In 2010, I began the difficult work of confronting my anger, rage, disillusionment, resentment, and hatred. I let all of these negative emotions go, and I started to love myself for the first time. I cut ties with my toxic family and my toxic self (my old thinking, my old behavior). I cut ties with toxic friends and toxic clients. I grieved the losses (I cried every day for five years), and then I moved on with my life. For all of this uncomfortable work, I am happy and free. I am satisfied and fulfilled in life. And I am now capable of loving and receiving love, which I do in spades all day long. I am living my best life now, and I am proud of myself for doing so. How do you look back on your time in the industry? TC: I look back at my experience with great fondness and appreciation. I am proud of my work and the contributions I have made to the industry. I am enjoying being Tom Chase. The ’90s and early 2000s, (when you were one of the biggest stars of the industry!) are widely thought of as The Golden Age of Gay Porn. Do you agree and what do you think made that period so special? TC: I do agree, because of the timing and convergence of two things: the advances in video technology and the athletic quality of the models. By the 1990s, both had reached their zeniths. The combination was art. Any fellow stars of that time you consider favorites? Wish you had worked with? Still in touch with? TC: My favorite co-star is Mike Branson, hands down. Our chemistry was real, and it was passionate. We liked each other a lot, and we respected each other. We had a good brotherhood. Unfortunately, we are not in touch. After we both completed our contracts, we went our separate ways in life. I do stay in touch with most of my co-stars from my day. We are a family. What do you think was your best scene and why? TC: My best scene was with Matthew Anders in High Tide. We were not fond of each other from the start, and our scene was a tender, love-making scene. Our initial lack of interest in each other concerned me. On the day of the shoot, however, we both rose to the occasion and delivered our professional best. High Tide turned out to be my masterpiece. In addition to being my best scene, it is my favorite scene. It is the only scene I made for Falcon which truly represents me in bed. You have said it was a deliberate decision of yours to show on screen your progression from boy to man. How and why did you do that? TC: Yes, this is true. I felt the world needed to see a true depiction of the sexual and physical maturation of a gay man. Initially, as most gay men, I topped. As I matured and discovered my hole, I started bottoming. This is a typical course for a gay man over his lifetime, and I wanted to show that natural progression. Basically, I produced a documentary of Tom Chase growing up in the bedroom, and I used three porn studios to produce that documentary: Falcon, Colt, and Butch Bear Studios. If I ever have the opportunity, I’d like to continue the documentary into my senior years. Do you follow the industry as it is today? Any stars today impress you? TC: I follow it from a distance. I enjoy watching Austin Wolf and Tim Kruger. Sometimes, I wish I was John Thomas or Henrik Sommer. Would you consider a comeback? TC: Yes, under two conditions: the scene be bareback only, and I am the bottom. The leg tats are awful; otherwise I'd still do him. https://www.cybersocket.com/news-gossip/catching-up-with-the-legendary-tom-chase-as-he-talks-the-golden-age-of-porn-embracing-his-bottom-side-more/

Affirmative, though not so much in that pic

Cool.

I loved Anna Torv in FRINGE, and this review seemed intriguing, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I got sucked in & watched the whole thing and enjoyed it. @mike carey is this going to be an ongoing series, or was it a once-off miniseries? There’s a hint of the 1987 movie “Broadcast News” in “The Newsreader,” a new six-episode drama premiering Friday (March 18) on Roku. The series, set in 1986 Australia, stars Anna Torv (“Fringe,” “Mindhunter”) as Helen Norville, the tempestuous co-anchor of the “News at Six” in Melbourne alongside her aging, jealous colleague, Geoff Walters (Robert Taylor), who’s turning 60 and clings to his days as a Vietnam War correspondent to assert his relevance. He knows (but won’t admit it) that viewers are tuning in to the newscast for Helen; their on-camera smiles disguise the icy off-camera friction between. The “News at Six” team also includes young, fresh-faced producer/reporter Dale Jennings (Sam Reid), who’s hoping for his big break as a newsreader and snaring that all-important morning “update” segment — but muffs it, big-time, when he fills in for Helen after she storms out of the station following a loud fight with her boss, news chief Lindsay Cunningham (William McInnes) — after he calls her “a war zone on two legs” and says she has “a face like a slapped a–.” He knows that Helen is the network news division’s bread-and-butter and he tells her as much … in his own un-PC way. Such was life in the go-go newsrooms of the mid-’80s. Anna Torv and Sam Reid as Helen Norville and Dale Jennings in a scene from “The Newsreader.” Sam Reid and Chai Hansen as Dale and Tim, a “News at Six” cameraman. “The Newsreader” opens in January 1986 and constructs its narrative around two real-life, major news events: the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion, which killed all seven crew members (including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe), and the arrival of Halley’s Comet, making its once-every-75-years appearance. As the series progresses, so does the relationship between Helen and Dale — she believes in his talent and he becomes her producer after she returns to “News at Six.” Dale is in awe of Helen while she struggles for the respect she deserves — and is so often denied — and is able to remarkably pull it together for the camera seconds after emotional meltdowns. They venture into a romance, while he finds himself attracted to cameraman Tim Ahern (Chai Hansen) amidst rumblings, as one of his co-workers says, that he’s “a poof.” Meanwhile, Helen’s testy relationship with her older co-anchor Geoff (and his wife, who’s not a fan) is tested when he makes an unexpected announcement at his 60th birthday party — and counts on Dale as an ally in the newsroom. “The Newsreader,” which premiered last summer on Australia’s ABC Network, snared five AACTA Awards (the country’s version of the Emmys and Oscars combined), including Torv as Best Lead Actress in a Drama and McInnes as Best Supporting Actor in a Drama. They’re all well-deserved. Torv plays Helen as a whirlwind of emotions, ambition and empathy who won’t give in to the sexism of her colleagues and bosses, however obvious or subtle, while McInnes adds subtle shading to his role as the demanding, demeaning, cajoling, understanding and intuitive news chief. Kudos, too, for Reid, Taylor and Hansen — who all turn in strong performances — and to series creator/co-writer Michael Lucas for recapturing the tenor of the times. While “The Newsreader” is set in Australia, the behavior and mores of the “News at Six” newsroom was universal and commonplace for its time. One thing that made this easy to binge is that each episode is ~52 minutes, and there's one 30 second ad for Verizon before and one 30 sec ad for Norwegian Cruise lines during. Otherwise, no ads. https://nypost.com/2022/03/17/anna-torvs-award-winning-role-in-the-newsreader-what-to-know/

Drunken Luann de Lesseps kicked out of gay piano bar There's such a thing as a straight piano bar?

Lucky you... my school was right on the other side of Mount Everest from my house. Au contraire! My family has diaries passed down through many centuries telling how my ancestors set their sundials back or forward twice a year. Apparently it was a bitch of an operation. I was going to post something pithy along those lines, but figured I'd be told it was in bad taste. I don't know why I let that stop me; normally it would just encourage me. 👀😇👀 👀😇👀 👀😇👀

I just watched the last one. I need a moment...

The Cubs made a very astute signing today. They got a lefty pitcher, pinch-hitter, and somebody to sing Take Me Out To The Ballgame all in one man: (and he's kinda cute, too)

How many young'ns here at the site do you think won't get the song reference in the thread title?

because most of her state doesn't adhere to it, but some of it does, which might create some issues?

The Senate unanimously approved a bill on Tuesday that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent, making the House all that stands between longer winter days and later sunrises in summer. The bipartisan legislation – known as the Sunshine Protection Act – was introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in March 2019. It was quickly backed by two of his Democratic colleagues, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon. As the measure passed, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) let out an audible “Yes!” on the Senate floor. If the House approves the measure and President Biden signs it, the legislation would not take effect until the fall of 2023 since airlines, railroads and other mass transit operators have built out schedules based on the current timekeeping system. The US will enter Standard Time in November of this year, when Americans in every state except Hawaii and non-Navajo areas of Arizona turn their clocks back one hour. This past Sunday marked the start of Daylight Saving Time. In an op-ed published last week, Rubio and Markey advocated for the time change, calling it “an inconvenience to people everywhere.” The clocks would not “fall back” by one hour in November and remain at standard time permanently — without having to “spring ahead” in March, the bill says. The US first adopted DST in 1918 during World War I and rescinded the following year, then brought back during World War II — but wasn’t regulated by the federal government until 1966, when Congress passed the Uniform Time Act. In 1974, President Richard Nixon again pulled the plug, but the move proved so unpopular with Americans — including parents who feared sending their kids to school in the dark — that President Gerald Ford later hit the reset button. Ben Franklin is widely credited with coming up with the idea of daylight savings time in a satirical piece in the Journal de Paris in 1784, National Geographic says. Not all of the USA observes DST — Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico and US territories, including Guam and the US Virgin Islands are not affected by the twice-a-year clock change, the US Energy Department says. If the Senate proposal — called the Sunshine Protection Act — is ultimately enacted, it will take effect in the fall of 2023 and would mark the third time in US history that DST has been shelved. If it were up to me, sunrise would be at 9AM (or later) everyday.