Epigonos

At recognizing so many national and local politicians for the blatant hypocrites, they are: 1.) California, Governor Gavin Newsom – Insisting that people not eat out in restaurants while he was photographed attend a private dinner at the very pricey (minimum $350 a person) French Laundry in Yountville, CA. 2.) U.S. House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Chicago Mayor, Lori Lightfoot having their hair done in a saloon when hair saloons were closed to “all” other patrons, 3.) San Jose, CA major going on record recommending that people not attend family gathering over Thanksgiving Weekend yet he flew to Alabama to be with his wife and daughter. 4.) Mayor Steve Adler of Austin, TX recording a message to city residents recommending that they not travel over the Thanksgiving Weekend. At the time the message was recorded he was vacationing in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The list goes on. I simply do not understand why these people feel so entitled nor do I understand why they are so fucking stupid that they don’t feel they will be caught. It is easy to see why politicians of all stripes have lost so much creditability during this pandemic

I often wonder why we must always find reasons (excuses) for people’s evil behavior. Might not some people simply be intrinsically evil?

WilliamM I envy you having the Barnes as near as you do. I must put it on my to do list even though I am not a big fan of Impressionism. The only thing I know about the Barnes is that there was a huge multi-year ugly fight regarding moving it from rural Merion to Philadelphia

When I was in St Petersburg, a year or so ago, I hired a guide and driver for two days to take me around to an itinerary I had planned. The guide arranged entrance into the Hermitage an hour prior to opening. However, an hour prior to opening hardly allows enough time to make even a minor dent in seeing the place’s collections. For me, frankly, the architecture of St. Petersburg and that of the surrounding palaces and gardens is a far bigger draw than the art. I had heard much about the great collection of Impressionist painting housed in the new location across from the Hermitage. I was disappointed. I personally feel the collection in the D’Orsay in Paris is far superior.

I am not a particularly good judge of the St. Petersburg museums. I have visited most of the city museums and palaces as well as many of the near and somewhat distant suburban places; I enjoyed them. The problem with the Hermitage is simply its size -- it is immense, and the crowds are daunting. I am a city boy through and through. I love wondering city streets window shopping and stopping along the way at interesting little shops, cafes, and coffee shops. That just is not possible in St. Petersburg as most of the streets are bare and interesting little shops, cafes, and coffee shops do not exist. As far as cities go, I find St. Petersburg dull, Dull, DULL. I need to make one more trip to the St. Petersburg as there are several more distant palaces and gardens that I would like to visit. I far prefer visiting St. Petersburg on a cruise ship and hiring a local guide and driver to get me around. I would NEVER ever consider staying at a hotel in the city.

WilliamM for me the museum with that has more than its fair share of junk hanging on its walls is the Louvre. One must look carefully for the great pieces there. Personally, I’ll take the D’Orsay any day over the Louvre. Again, strictly personal taste my favorite art museum is the Uffizi. The fact that I am particularly fond of Italian Renaissances painting makes that an easy choice. In my opinion both the Uffizi in Florence and the Prado in Madrid have done an outstanding job culling their collections. There are a few trite piece in both of those museums but they are few and far between.

WilliamM if you will be so kind as to read my post again you will note that I stated "much" of what hangs in major art museums is NOT great art. I DID NOT say all. All of the museums you mentioned have great hanging on their walls, HOWEVER, they also have politically correct junk art hanging on their walls. It is also a fact that not everything Matisse, Cezanne, and Gauguin painted is great art.

Damn am I out of touch with you all. My first concert was the Australian soprano Joan Sutherland at the Hollywood Bowl. I was a freshman in college so it must have been around 1960.

I hired Alec and Ryan for a three-way a number of years ago. It was the worst three-way I've ever experienced - a total disaster. They insisted that I lay between them and they wouldn't touch each other during the entire time we were together. They broke up several years ago. I believe Alec is now happily married and has developed a career in investment real estate.

Thetruth The one thing one learns quickly around here is how to develop of thick skin. Do NOT let the two thumbs down get to you. Take them with a grain of salt and continue posting and asking questions.

To often we attempt to turn the hiring of an escort into some profound experience – it is not. Most of us hire an escort for a fun romp in bed and possibly some mealtime companionship. It is NOT love. Yes, it is true the escort is likely acting but so what? If the experience is fun leave it at that. Kiss him as he leaves and move on.

Here in California we are rapidly descending into the third world where electricity is concerned. Over the last few years we have come to endure more and more electrical rolling blackouts. I shudder to think of what I would do with one of these Toto toilets during one of our periodic blackouts.

I will admit, up front, that I find the very idea of a bidet toilet disgusting. However, the more I think about it the more I laugh at myself. When I was a child my family used to visit my paternal grandparents every summer. They lived in a mining camp on the outskirts of Rock Springs, Wyoming. The house had a hand pump in the kitchen to draw water but no inside plumbing. Out in the backyard there was an outhouse. My mother absolutely hated using it and always brought incense sticks along to kill the odor. Eventually my uncle bought a home in town for my grandparents. My grandmother NEVER ceased complaining about having that filthy dirty toilet in the house. Sounds a bit like my current thinking doesn’t it? I just might have to consider changing my attitude toward bidet toilets.

Yes. He appeared in several films. He was a regular for a couple of years and then found a boyfriend and that ended that.

Believe it or not "62"!

There was a time when Jack Ryan escorted. However, at one point his life seemed to fall apart. Hope he has recovered and is well

To ALL, have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving with the hope that next years will be more open. Luv

People in my part of town seem to have a major Costco complex. Large crowds of people rush to Costco and buy out all the toilet paper, paper towels, bottled water, and disinfecting wipes. Yet just down the street at my local Smart & Final and Target all of the above items are available. I really, Really, REALLY do get it other than people are as a whole idiots. I'm to the point where I am sick and tired of this whole covid19 bullshit. Our wonderful "French Laundry" governor is again attempting to shut down the entire state. I sincerely wish people would look into what Jay Bhattacharya a Professor of Medicine at Stanford University where he received both an M.D. and a Ph.D. in economics has to say about the entire situation. People might also want to look into the Great Barrington Declaration.

You are definitely correct that the closing of a Walmart in a small town can have a devastating affect. However, keep in mind that before Walmart opened in small towns all across the country those towns had thriving local downtown businesses. Once Walmart opened it undercut all of the local businesses and drove them to closure. Now the towns are left high and dry -- Walmart is gone and their downtown business district consists of a bunch of boarded up store fronts.

The answer to all these questions is simple. Do NOT attempt to fly an escort out to meet you that you haven't met previously. After the initial meeting one would hope that you have come to trust each other. Case in point. Many years ago while in New York I got together with an escort and we had a great experience. Latter I flew him to New Orleans to meet me. We knew each other and trusted each other. We had one hell of a great weekend.

Went to my local North Orange County Costco yesterday at about 7:45 a.m. They open for seniors only (you MUST show your drivers license) between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. The line was quite long but moved quickly once they opened. Inside there was a second line for paper goods. I was about out of paper towels and toilet paper which was the reason I had gone. They had pallet after pallet of both paper towels and toilet paper so I was able to get both. I was also able to pick up a five pack of Clorox Disinfecting Wipes. I went home but unfortunately I left my Costco card at the store so I had to return a little before noon to retrieve it. Just out of curiosity I decided to check on the availability of paper goods. I couldn't believe my eyes -- the entire stock of toilet paper, paper towels, and disinfecting wipes was wiped out. My conclusion -- we have returned to dumb, silly, ridiculous panic buying. The utter stupidy of the American public NEVER ceases to amaze me.

I've finally arrived at the point that when an escort has a body like this guy I can overlook the excessive ink.

At least the guy seems to have a sense of humor!

This is a real shocker. About a year before he moved to Florida we got together for lunch at a little restaurant in North Hollywood. Does anybody know when he died and what was the cause?

Great news FRyan22. I look forward to meeting in April.