Charlie

The Don Juan stereotype for opera superstars has been around for a couple of centuries; men whose careers depend on convincing a live audience that they are consumed with passion for women they are making love to on stage may find it easy to identify with the Don Juan role. What makes this less acceptable is the claims that Domingo retaliated by damaging the careers of those who resisted. It also makes things very awkward for those whom he obviously favored, like Ana Maria Martinez, whose relationships with him will be questioned. Opera companies and orchestras have always felt it was good business to protect their great artists from public exposure whenever they got in trouble, as the Met did with James Levine. The whole business model is now under review.

You won't be asked any questions about how you met when you are applying for a marriage license. I assume that after you are married, there will be questions from USCIS (successor to the INS) regarding your new spouse's status.

I dunno, it doesn't look much like New Jersey to me.

No, one can get the license only at the county office.

One can make arrangements in advance to be married at the city hall in Palm Springs by the mayor. We were married at the old county office in Indio, which has since been torn down (alas! so much gay history destroyed!), and has been relocated to Palm Desert.

We got married right after licenses began to be issued in California in 2013, so there were lines of applicants at the local county Recorder's office in Indio when we showed up on Tuesday, but the commissioner had set up special arrangements to handle them all. We both had to appear in person, with an acceptable witness (in our case, a friend who was a retired lawyer), fill out the forms, pay for the license, and we had it certified right there. We three needed to show ID (you also need to provide divorce papers from a previous marriage if necessary). Because we wanted a civil marriage, we could have been married right there and then by a Deputy Commissioner for Civil Marriages, but we would have had a long wait that day, and I had neglected to wear white . So we made an appt to be married the following Monday, when we returned with two friends as witnesses (only one is legally required). There was a short standard ceremony, which we had been given a copy of when we made the appt; the officiant was a Deputy Commissioner, in a robe, and took about ten minutes; it took place in a room set up like a small non-denominational chapel, with seating for a number of people if you had invited others to attend. And then it was over, and we were legally married, with an official printed certificate--after 45 years of living together in sin.

Napoleon's was there thirty years before then. I remember being taken there when I was in my 20s, and it was just as you describe it.

Everyone in Philly knows where you are going when you're "heading down the shore."

I never imagined in the 1960s that the day would come when I would completely lose interest in going to gay bars, but it finally did about ten years ago.

But I have heard Domingo fairly recently, and he can still sing the right roles (and I don't mean the Emperor Altoum).

Well, I still haven't responded to Joe Namath's enthusiastic encouragement to call the "Medicare Hotline" to "get all the benefits you deserve! Call now! It's FREE!" (the 800 number call, not the extra benefits)

Each relationship started with a strong physical attraction, but could only be maintained with an even stronger intellectual and emotional compatibility.

Anyone who listens to SoCal traffic reports knows the terms "lookie-loo" and "Sig alert."

In its early days, it used to be referred to as "the Surekill Expressway."

A half dozen years ago, my spouse and I were booked into the St. Giles by our travel agent. When we checked in, my spouse looked around in puzzlement, then suddenly realized, "My god! I lived in this building when I first arrived in London in the 1960s. This used to be the London YMCA!" Sure enough, he could still find his way to the swimming pool.

I love conveyor belt sushi restaurants! When I discovered one in Fukuoka I ate there every night.

If you look for them in a shoe store, they are now usually called "athletic shoes," since there are special types for tennis, basketball, running, etc.

Many manuals still refer to the parking brake as the "emergency brake," although I can't imagine it being able to stop a modern car.

My spouse uses it all the time.

To "dial" a phone number. When was the last time you used a phone that had a dial?

If you search, you will find he has been asked about on here before.

There is a difference between teaching at the elementary school level, where a degree in education is usually required, and teaching at a higher level, where it is as important to have knowledge of a particular subject matter, like math, biology or a foreign language. Most schools which are hiring teachers without training in education are looking for people with some specialized subject expertise, who can teach that subject at high school level while working towards professional credentials in education. My sense is that Stormy is thinking about teaching younger children, which requires a different kind of training, and--in my experience--a different kind of personality than someone who is subject-oriented.

I think they are just trying to prove that it really was cooked in a skillet and not a microwave.

Odd: his stats in his ad say he is 6'7" not "SixFtNine" (will the guy who shows up be 6'3"?)

I read the New Yorker article and watched the video, because both were sent to me by a friend who has never had any interest in opera, but now thinks that maybe he would like it. Sex sells. I have seen some noted countertenors over the years, starting with James Bowman, and have known a couple personally. Unfortunately, I have rarely enjoyed listening to them, even when they are technically excellent. I guess it is a matter of taste.