keefer

These are absolutely perfect. Have just started to find and order them on Amazon -- THANKS!

Some of my earliest childhood memories were weekly visits to the local library with my mom. I remember the first book I read, bursting with pride when I was allowed my first library card, and weekends with her and grandpa browsing old bookstores in NYC. Now 90, mom lives in an "active" retirement community in Arizona, is still active, mobile, and reasonably sharp. At the start of the covid pandemic, my sister and I persuaded her to stay indoors -- and we remotely managed regular deliveries of food. She had a primitive TV so I took over the task of ensuring regular deliveries of DVDs and books; the DVDs stopped once we replaced her television and broadband/internet... the books became an entirely different problem. I knew mom was a reader, but never appreciated how voracious her appetite was. Since start of pandemic (March 2020) I've sent 130 books, some singly, some in large packs, many from Amazon, many more from Bookshop.org (to support local/independent bookshops). I've spent hours reading recommendation lists, NY Times best seller lists, Amazon lists; set up accounts on GoodReads, visited bookstores around London... Here's my problem: I'm running out of ideas, I don't want to sound desperate, but I'm desperate. Does anyone have any recommendations? As a New Yorker her appetite matched her life experience -- anything related to strong women, civil rights, American and British history, American Presidents, immigration, American theater. She loathes romance novels, and refuses to be tricked into reading fiction. Here's just a small sampling of the books I've sent her in the past 20 months... Help ??? Abrams, Dan -- Lincoln's Last Trial: The Murder Case that propelled him to the Presidency Adie, Kate -- The Kindness of Strangers Albright, Madeleine -- Hell and Other Destinations: A 21st-Century Memoir Albright, Madeleine -- Madam Secretary: A Memoir Albright, Madeleine -- Prague Winter: A personal story of remembrance and war Albright, Madeleine -- Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box Applebaum, Anne -- Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism Attenborough, Sir David -- Adventures of a Young Naturalist: The Zoo Quest Expeditions Baime, A. J. -- The Accidental President: Harry S. Truman and the Four Months That Changed the World Barrios, Richard -- West Side Story: The Jets, the sharks and the making of a classic Barry, John M. -- The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History Belafonte, Harry -- My Song: A Memoir Birmingham, Stephen -- Life at the Dakota: New York's Most Unusual Address Bleyer, Bill -- Long Island and the Sea: A Maritime History Bob Woodward -- The Secret Man: The Story of Watergate's Deep Throat Borchert, Scott -- Republic of Detours: How the New Deal Paid Broke Writers to Rediscover America Brands, H. W. -- Heirs of the Founders: The Epic Rivalry of Henry Clay, John Calhoun and Daniel Webster, the Second Generation of American Giants Brands, H. W. -- The Zealot and the Emancipator: John Brown, Abraham Lincoln, and the Struggle for American Freedom Brands, H.W. -- The General vs. The President: MacArthur and Truman at the brink of nuclear war Bren, Paulina -- The Barbizon: The Hotel That Set Women Free Brower, Kate Andersen -- Team of Five: The Presidents Club in the Age of Trump Bryson, Bill -- Mother Tongue: The Story of the English Language Bryson, Bill -- Notes from a Small Island Bundles, A'Lelia -- Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker Bush, George W. -- Out of Many, One: Portraits of America's Immigrants Bythell, Shaun -- Confessions of a Bookseller Cadbury, Deborah -- Queen Victoria's Matchmaking: The Royal Marriages that Shaped Europe Caro, Robert A. -- The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York Carter, Jimmy -- A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety Carville, James -- All's Fair: Love, War, and Running for President Chang, Jung -- Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China Chang, Jung -- Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China Chernow, Ron -- Alexander Hamilton Chernow, Ron -- Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. Colman, Penny -- A Woman Unafraid: The Achievements Of Frances Perkins Cornejo Villavicencio, Karla -- The Undocumented Americans Damrosch, Leo -- The Club: Johnson, Boswell, and the Friends Who Shaped an Age Demarest, Janet Emily -- Tales from the General Store: The Legends of Long Island Downey, Kirstin -- The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life and Legacy of Frances Perkins, Social Security, Unemployment Insurance, Dray, Stephanie -- My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne -- An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States (REVISIONING HISTORY) Egan, Timothy -- The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl Epstein, Daniel Mark -- The Loyal Son: The War in Ben Franklin's House Essinger, James -- Ada's Algorithm Evans, Harold -- My Paper Chase: True Stories of Vanished Times Fagone, Jason -- The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America's Enemies Feiffer, Jules -- Conspiracy in the Streets: The Extraordinary Trial of the Chicago Seven Ginsburg, Ruth Bader -- My Own Words Glenconner, Anne -- Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown Gornick, Vivian -- Fierce Attachments (FSG Classics) Graham, Katharine -- Personal History Grasso, Dr. Joanne S. -- The American Revolution in Long Island (Military) Gunn, Cameron -- Ben & Me: From Temperance to Humility--Stumbling Through Ben Franklin's Thirteen Virtues,O ne Unvirtuous Day at a Time Holland, Jesse -- Black Men Built the Capitol: Discovering African-American History In and Around Washington, D.C. Hoose, Phillip -- Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice Hurston, Zora Neale -- Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" James Essinger -- Ada's Algorithm: How Lord Byron's Daughter Launched the Digital Age Through the Poetry of Numbers Jules Feiffer -- Conspiracy in the Streets: The Extraordinary Trial of the Chicago Seven Kamman, Madeline -- When French Women Cook Katz, Catherine Grace -- The Daughters of Yalta: The Churchills, Roosevelts, and Harrimans: A Story of Love and War Kerrison, Catherine -- Jefferson's Daughters: Three Sisters, White and Black, in a Young America Kolker, Robert -- Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family Kurin, Richard -- The Smithsonian's History of America in 101 Objects Landdeck, Katherine Sharp -- The Women with Silver Wings: The Inspiring True Story of the Women Air force Service Pilots of World War II Lanier, Shannon -- Jefferson's Children: The Story of One American Family Larson, Erik -- The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz Levine, Suzanne Braun -- Bella Abzug: How One Tough Broad from the Bronx Fought Jim Crow and Joe McCarthy, Pissed Off Jimmy Carter, Battled … Lewis, Michael -- The Fifth Risk MacGregor, Neil -- A History of the World in 100 Objects Mapes, Mary -- Truth: The Press, the President, and the Privilege of Power Margot Lee Shetterly -- Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race Marlon, James -- A Brief History of Seven Killings Matteson, John -- A Worse Place Than Hell: How the Civil War Battle of Fredericksburg Changed a Nation McCarthy, Tom -- Satin Island McNeal, Violet -- Four White Horses and a Brass Band: True Confessions from the World of Medicine Shows, Pitchmen, Chumps, Suckers, Fixers, and Shills Meyers, Stephen L -- Lost Trolleys of Queens and Long Island Milton, Giles -- Churchill's Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: The Mavericks Who Plotted Hitler's Defeat Moore, Donovan -- What Stars Are Made Of: The Life of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin Moore, Kate -- The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of Americas Shining Women Morrison, David D. -- Jamaica Station (Images of Rail) Mundy, Liza -- Code Girls Obama, Barack -- A Promised Land Obama, Michelle -- Becoming Obioma, Chigozie -- The Fisherman Olson, Lynne -- Citizens of London: The Americans Who Stood with Britain in Its Darkest, Finest Hour Olson, Lynne -- Madame Fourcade's Secret War: The Daring Young Woman Who Led France's Largest Spy Network Against Hitler Orlean, Susan -- The Library Book Owen, Amanda -- Adventures Of The Yorkshire Shepherdess Purdum, Todd -- Something Wonderful Purnell, Sonia -- A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II Rather, Dan -- What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism Reid, Jan -- Let the People In: The Life and Times of Ann Richards Richards, Ann -- Straight from the Heart Roberts, Andrew -- Churchill: Walking with Destiny Roosevelt, Eleanor -- The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt Rose, Alexander -- Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring Rothstein, Richard -- The Colour of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America Sahota, Sunjeeve -- The Year of the Runaways Shapiro, James -- Shakespeare in a Divided America: What His Plays Tell Us About Our Past and Future Shetterly, Margot -- Hidden Figures: The true story of four black women and the space race Simpson, John -- We Chose To Speak Of War & Strife Skloot, Rebecca -- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Souza, Pete -- Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents Spady, Matthew -- The Neighbourhood Manhattan Forgot: Audubon Park and the Families Who Shaped It Stanton, Brandon -- Humans Stanton, Brandon -- Humans of New York Stanton, Brandon -- Humans of New York: Stories Steinbeck, John -- Travels with Charley in Search of America Steinhauer, Jennifer -- The Firsts: The Inside Story of the Women Reshaping Congress Stevenson, Bryan -- Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption Teachout, Terry -- Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong Trethewey, Natasha -- Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir Trump Ph.D., Mary L. -- Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man Tyler, Anne -- A spool of Blue Thread Viertel, Jack -- The Secret Life of the American Musical: How Broadway Shows Are Built Wallach, Janet -- The Richest Woman in America: Hetty Green in the Gilded Age Warren, Frank -- A Lifetime of Secrets: A PostSecret Book Warren, Frank -- PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives Watson, Christie -- The Language of Kindness: A Nurse's Story Wilkerson, Isabel -- The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration Winegard, Timothy -- The Mosquito Wine-Banks, Jill -- The Watergate Girl: My Fight for Truth and Justice Against a Criminal President Wolff, Michael -- Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House Woodward, Bob -- All the President's Men Woodward, Bob -- Rage Woodward, Bob -- The Final Days Yanagihara, Hanya -- A little Life : A novel Yang, Jia Lynn -- One Mighty and Irresistible Tide: The Epic Struggle Over American Immigration, 1924-1965

Fascinating... the casting write-up in Wikipedia (referencing other sources) suggests: "Eager not to be typecast, they took the suggestion of Sandrich [Director] and switched roles at the last minute".

That text appears to be lacking punctuation, maybe genuine clean means "... remove commas..." ?

I've always had a weakness for erotic fiction, which can probably be traced to the early 70's swiping old Penthouse magazines from my Dad and rare trips to NYC/times-square to forage for porn (coming out, first introduction to glory holes, most marvelous years, but I digress)... With demise of xhamster (stories) I find myself searching for old unread content on a small number of sites... for others with same porn fetish, does anyone have recommendations of other sites for great gay porn ? my reliable (and heavily thumbed) sites are Nifty: http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/ Literotica: https://www.literotica.com/ GayDemon: https://www.gaydemon.com/stories/ Xnxx: https://www.sexstories.com/ (though I'm quite cautious with this site) Suggestions?

Fully vaxed, boosted - on pause until new year... Suspect that's due as much to do with infection rates exploding in UK (and Europe), natural caution due to conflicting reports that even vaccinated people are getting ill, and distrust of how UK govt is handling this... as it is with having spent all disposable income on xmas presents, food, and alcohol, and mother-in-law selling the family home and moving in with us (last Sunday)... I suspect my enthusiasm and eagerness with the first hire of 2022 will be on par with losing my virginity a million years ago...

It depends - but I find something extremely horny/sexy about guys with face tattoos. I grew up at a time when there was a lot of pressure to follow/defer to authority. To me guys with face tattoos indicates creative free thinkers, with complex personalities - and for someone who has always followed the rules there is something extremely attractive about men who rebelled a bit.

Reminds me of SNL... New Shimmer is both a floor wax and a dessert topping!

@nycman - I quoted you to my husband who instantly replied (as only a Brit could) - "... class? nah mate, you're common as muck..." On the other hand @Rudynate's husband has class. His reaction was rare and much to be admired - quite chivalrous.

A few years ago my husband and I were treated to dinner tasting menu at the Fat Duck (Heston's Michelin starred restaurant in Bray near Heathrow)... Between pre-dinner drinks at a nearby pub and a glass of wine with the first few courses, we were feeling no pain when the waiter arrived to refill our wine glasses. While filling my glass she lost her grip on the bottle, it crashed down on my plate and glass - broken plates, wine everywhere - (shocked me from drunk to sober in an instant). Before I could react or even speak all waiters on the floor descended on our table to check we were fine, quickly followed by the manager. He apologized, and asked if we'd like to step away from the table and see the kitchen so the waiters could clear the mess. Given how famous Heston was at the time all of us jumped at the chance; we were away from the table less than five minutes, and returned to a pristine table - fresh linen, cutlery, plates, glasses for everyone - table looked the same as when we sat down at start of the meal. The manager and our waiter again apologized for the mistake - we brushed it aside and said it was simple mistake, absolutely no issues. really good will, extremely gracious. And then I made the fatal mistake: having a very surreal New York sense of humor, I quipped my only injury was losing quite a pleasant wine buzz. The manager smiled and said "... we can fix that..."; they restarted the dinner with fresh course that had been interrupted, replaced the bottle with a new one well out of my price range, a second when that finished, and then the most amazing dessert wine I've ever had. The bill eventually arrived, and we were surprised half the meals and all the alcohol had been comped. The manager refused to let us add a tip, and followed up by given each of the couples (my husband and I, and two others) a special black business card with his number allowing us to queue jump the notorious reservation system... We called the number a few months later for an anniversary dinner, and then periodically through the years whenever there was a special event. The manager and staff always remembered, and welcomed us back as royalty for years.

It's a relief to see others have received requests and how they dealt with them... I was honestly baffled by the first request and ignored it overnight; the second, and then the third - all with identical picture led me to assume fake profile - and then read this thread.

A Friday limerick in honor of @thedanNYC :-)

My closest friend; who I met at summer camp when we were both 7... the first person I came out to... yearly travel buddy to Vegas (shared love of cheap slot machines, martini's, and people watching)... closest confident, the person I talked to about boyfriend problems... the person who knew most about me except for me... and who supported, laughed with me and at me at my adventures, mistakes... the baby sister in a large Italian family with many older brothers (who more than once took me aside to talk about the dowry that would come my way if I would only take her off their hands)... without hesitation, Marie...

❤️

I'm going to suggest abandoning the skiing idea and instead embrace snow-boarding. Snow Boarding explains the laws of gravity in great detail, periodically allows you to get up close and personal with nature (trees), and, well, used to be the most legal thing you could do in Colorado to elicit bouts of uncontrollable laughter... the snow-board instructors are less about ballet and form (skiing) and more about embracing the ruggedness of life... highly recommended... You'll need to ensure you're in a resort where alcohol and hot-tubs are an option - you'll need them.

It's never too late to celebrate your 21st 😉

I lived in Boulder between '83 and '94, I suspect my experiences were unique to me, unique to my age and interests, and unique to the time... over a two year period went from going everywhere by car to living on a mountain bike; from eating like a goat to a vegetarian diet; from sedentary to quite athletic... Pearl Street was just emerging as the destination pedestrian mall... weekends driving through the mountains... learning to snowboard (you have to learn to respect gravity)... truly an amazing place... amazing start-up mentality ... don't like your job? just go to lunch with friends and start somewhere else on Monday... but eventually the magnitude of what I was missing outweighed the lifestyle, and I moved on (to a gritty little flat in London)... the pangs of homesickness for Boulder are sometimes there (especially when Londoners get excited about a centimetre of snow)... but I could never move back - the real world has too much to offer.

First - THANK YOU, I thought just one or two people might respond, but the quality of suggestions tells me I'm about to have many, many, many, years of pleasure... While adding everyone's suggestions to notes section on my phone - I wondered if any old pubs around mayfair/soho had a decent whiskey/whisky/scotch collection... to my delight it turns out this drink is quite on-trend here, Timeout even had a reasonably recent article rating some of the best in London, one of them is 30 seconds walk from my office... I think I know what I'll be doing this summer in preparation for a trip to Scotland... https://www.timeout.com/london/bars-and-pubs/the-best-whisky-bars-in-london

That's actually a really good idea... I was planning a week in Edinburgh and Leith at end of the summer, and driving further north would actually be quite a treat - great idea!

A million years ago, in a previous life, when I was just 18, I wrote some software for a friends dad. To say thank you he bought me a few bottles of Jim Beam; and as 18 year-olds do, we made a considerable dent in the stash the following weekend. That was quickly followed by over 50 years abstaining from anything which even remotely tasted like whiskey, or scotch (or tequila, but that's a different story involving an old beetle, Tijuana, and learning to drive stick)... Fast forward to last December, and after a few weeks' thinking one very cold evening, log fire, watching an old movie, something prompted me to open a dusty old bottle of Nikka. Either I've mellowed with age, or, against the odds, grew up... but it was perfect. And since December I've worked through two of the small bottles of Nikka from the barrel (square bottles), and now working through Nikka Days... and realise I actually like blended whiskeys... Given I've wasted the past 50 years on Vodka tonic, I have little experience other than Nikka; and am wondering if anyone has affordable recommendations that won't accidentally put me off whiskey for another 50 years... I should add that I live in London and visit Edinburgh periodically, so both Irish and Scotch whiskeys are quite available... help?

I am going to go against the grain and meekly agree with @JoeMendoza and say I liked the video. I've been off gay scene at least 10 years, haven't been to a gay pub in at least 5 years... and I vicariously like the presenter -- he reminds me of so many fun bartenders I've interacted with so many years ago, a bit of reliving my misspent youth....

the one on the right, or the one on the left ?

@Axiom2001 do you mean this ? National Museum of African American History and Culture? if yes, it is an amazing space, a number of their exhibits are overwhelming -- Highly recommended