Leaderboard

happy happy birthday!

I have a very fun few days. My friend tomcal left yesterday and before he left, I met him in Ipsnema for lunch and then we headed to Point 202 for his last night. Point is nowhere near as busy as it was a few years back. IMHO, management really let things slide. The facilities and the location is fantastic but the boys are no longer there and neither are the customers. Tom likes it from time to time but on this trip, I found nothing I liked about it. It is also notorious for padding the bill. It is so very common that I have refused to even step food in the place in years gone by. I had my regular over for an overnighter and it was fun. On Sunday afternoon, the hotel Internet hotel went out completely. It was just dead. I was livid and I made my feelings known. On Monday, the first thing I did was go to Sugar Loaf Mountain. I have been many times in the past but I love the view. The entire week has been horrible for photos. There has been no sun and it has been very grey and rainy. Today was no exception. I was going to take the helicopter ride with 2 other guys I met on the way up but they told us that the Christo was not visible in the clouds. The ride was going to cost us 1200 each and I didn't want to pay that and not have some good photos of the Christ the Redeemer Statue. I wanted to see a few boys from Meio Mundo and I went there today. I got there early and I went to see them. I had the one guy tomcal took nightly 2-3 times for groups and had a great time with him. I then had the massage guy I had a few days back. I thought I was done for the night but I saw this young dark hair twink that I thought was adorable and chatted with him. He had a few piercings that I like and I asked 2 of the other guys I have been with a few times if they wanted a 4 way and they all jumped at the chance. It was a fun 4 way but the one boy (left in photo) was a bit Sadomasochistic. The other guys were a bit taken aback by this. I think they would have been OK with it had the boy not been so unbelievably new to it and not really great at reading signs. LOL That said, I still had fun with them. As the 4 way made the 6th guy in the sauna and my money was drawing to a close, I headed to the hotel early. I had a friend waiting for me at 9PM that will stay all night and celebrate my midnight birthday with me. I just love a good midnight sexcapade.

Among those of us who are gay And looking for someone to play, Our rational nudeness Trumps national rudeness And leads to a pretty nice day.

I was chatting with my friend tomcal the a few days back about Prague and Barcelona. I love the areas and want to go back and visit this year. I had a bit of free time last night so I thought I'd share some of my thoughts about EU with you guys. The Official Boy Toy Guide To Vising Europe One of the great things about being gay is that we have a lot more disposable income than our breeder buddies. After all, we don't have to worry about buying diapers for years every time a condom breaks! And, we don't have wives who insist on spending money on curtains instead of cock rings. Which means that we get to travel much more often than they do. And we get to travel on our own, which means we get to have great sexcations. Now, there are tons of guides out there for guys who are traveling to Asia about how to deal with their customs so you don't come off as a Western imperialist dog. But, there aren't that many guides about how to fit into European culture. Many people think that because most Americans are descended from Europeans, they have similar customs to ours and we can just do what we normally do. But, that's simply not the case. There is more than just a language difference between Americans and Europeans. There are also cultural differences and getting to understand them will help you fit in and make sure you are not perceived as an ugly American. With that in mind, get ready for the Boy Toy Guide To Visiting Europe! The first thing you need to do is lower your voice. Americans speak much, much more loudly than European people do, and speaking in your normal voice will both single you out as an American and make you seem very rude. So, keep your voice down. The second thing to be aware of is that there are topics of conversation that are fully acceptable in America, but not at all acceptable in Europe, the first being that people don't like to talk about their jobs or how much money they make. Asking someone what they do for a living is incredibly rude. Asking them if it pays well is even ruder. Politics and religion are also things to be avoided. Most people in Europe are secular. They already think America is Jesusland, so don't give them any more ammunition. And, most of them are anti-capitalism and anti-imperialism for them, even Obama is far more right wing than any serious political figure in their countries - so anything you say about politics is going to come out as offensively right-wing. Personal body space is also very different in Europe than in America. We Americans tend to assume that we should put several inches of space between us and the people around us. In Europe, they don't have those problems. So, if someone is sitting very close to you in a bar or walking very close to you on the street, they are not being rude; they simply don't have the body distance issues that we have. Everything also moves more slowly in Europe. If you are at a cafe or a restaurant and it seems like it is taking forever for you to be served, that's not laziness or bad service. It's just that nobody is in a rush. Just relax and remember that you are on vacation. The good side of this is that unlike in America, they will not be trying to rush you out the door. If you order a coffee in a cafe, you can stay at your table for two hours reading a book if you'd like you won't be pressured to either order something else or leave. One conversation that you can have safely and that will get cute guys talking to you is football. Not the NFL, but real football, otherwise known as soccer. There are three teams that nearly every male in Europe is willing to talk about Manchester United, Arsenal, and Real Madrid. Just go to the Wikipedia entry for any of those teams, memorize a few details, and you can get any dude in Europe to talk to you. There is a myth that you don't tip in Europe. This is simply not true. You don't tip as much as you would in the United States, but you still should leave something after you get a drink or a meal. Leaving five euros after dinner is fine. Leaving 50 cents after you get a drink is also fine. Neither will break the bank and both will make you look like a good dude. People tend to be much more open about sex and sexuality in Europe than in America. In several countries, infidelity is not only accepted but somewhat expected, as long as everyone is discreet. This means that just because a dude is wearing a wedding ring doesn't mean he won't be up for a little bump and grind if you charm him the right way. And, a dude who just got finished telling you he has a boyfriend may still be very interested in you. You'll find that people tend to eat much later in Europe than in America. In France most restaurants don't open until 8 p.m., and rarely have anyone in them until 9. In Spain people don't really eat dinner until 10 p.m. or later. So, if you are used to eating around 6 or 7, try snacking during the day instead. People in Europe are also much less judgmental about drinking and smoking than we are in America. Making comments about how you hate smoking will get you singled out as a puritan. And, don't be surprised if the people you hang out with drink more than you are used to. Speaking of drinking, if you end up hanging out with anyone from Ireland, Wales or England, there is a round buying system. Generally, if more than two people are hanging out in a bar, one of them will buy a round of drinks. Then, it is expected that at some point in the evening you will buy a round of drinks as well if you don't, you will be considered an asshole. This is true even if there are eight or nine people at the table buy one round for everyone. It will balance out because you'll have eight or nine people buying drinks for you as well. These are just a few tips, but keeping them in mind will help you avoid making the most common cultural blunders, which will make you look good, and, more importantly, more attractive to the boy toy of your choice. So, remember them the next time you visit the old country!

The Guardian's live blogger is appropriately salty. That we are even having to adjudicate this shit... ...Over the next two days, the court will hear arguments over state and federal constitutional rights for same-sex couples – and possibly overturn a terrible gay-bashing law that Bill Clinton signed in the 90s for modest, personal political gain. Today's first session concerns Proposition 8, a 2008 ballot initiative to ban same-sex marriage in the California state's constitution – overturning the state supreme court's recognition of same-sex marriage just a few months earlier. This left thousands of couples who'd already exchanged vows suddenly unmarried. A legal battle ensued, with a US district court striking down Prop 8 on equal protection grounds, and a federal appeals court upholding the court's decision under a less sweeping rationale. These various rulings, along with a number of tiresome procedural concerns accumulated over the years that the supreme court will first need to sift through, mean there's a vast, confusing array of possible outcomes for the Prop 8 case. Chris McGreal explains all of this, and more, in his long and detailed preview that you'll want to keep nearby for the next 48 hours. Wednesday's arguments will concern the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, a truly awful and mean-spirited law from another era (the 1990s) that most controversially denies married gay couples the federal benefits offered to married straight couples. We'll talk more about the Doma case as the day goes on and into tomorrow, but the legal eagles' consensus is somewhat clearer on this one: there's a strong chance the Supreme Court, like lower courts, will find the law unconstitutional on obvious-from-the-start federalist grounds and finally get this noxious crap off of the government's books. In the Proposition 8 legal action, the supreme court could decide: • There is a constitutional right, under the equal protection clauses, for gay couples to wed, in which case the laws in 30 states prohibiting same-sex marriages are overturned. • The Proposition 8 ban on gay marriage is constitutional, leaving states free to decide the question for themselves. • That once California permitted gay marriage, it could not then take that right away. That would have no impact in the majority of US states that are determinedly against gay marriage, at least for now. • To uphold the Obama administration's position that California cannot go on recognising same-sex civil partnerships, with the same rights and burdens as marriage, without permitting gays to marry. That would also force seven other states that allow civil unions to introduce same-sex marriage but, again, have no impact on those states that ban gay nuptials. Your trusty Guardian live blogger's musings will be supplemented by dispatches from our able-bodied warriors in the field. Chris McGreal will be reporting inside the chamber. Adam Gabbatt will be surveying the scene outside the court, where lines began forming before the weekend. He'll try to meet some of these devotees – or perhaps the unfortuante people they paid to serve as "placeholders" over the weekend and freeze to death in their stead – and whoever else shows up for the circus. Let the fun begin. We will be covering every aspect of it. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/26/supreme-court-gay-marriage-live

PORTMAN: Coming out By Will Portman Guest Columnist Yale Daily News Monday, March 25, 2013 I came to Yale as a freshman in the fall of 2010 with two big uncertainties hanging over my head: whether my dad would get elected to the Senate in November, and whether I’d ever work up the courage to come out of the closet. I made some good friends that first semester, took a couple of interesting classes and got involved in a few rewarding activities. My dad won his election. On the surface, things looked like they were going well. But the truth was, I wasn’t happy. I’d make stuff up when my suitemates and I would talk about our personal lives. I remember going to a dance in the Trumbull dining hall with a girl in my class and feeling guilty about pretending to be somebody I wasn’t. One night, I snuck up to the stacks in Sterling Library and did some research on coming out. The thought of telling people I was gay was pretty terrifying, but I was beginning to realize that coming out, however difficult it seemed, was a lot better than the alternative: staying in, all alone. I worried about how my friends back home would react when I told them I was gay. Would they stop hanging out with me? Would they tell me they were supportive, but then slowly distance themselves? And what about my friends at Yale, the “Gay Ivy”? Would they criticize me for not having come out earlier? Would they be able to understand my anxiety about all of this? I felt like I didn’t quite fit in with Yale or Cincinnati, or with gay or straight culture. In February of freshman year, I decided to write a letter to my parents. I’d tried to come out to them in person over winter break but hadn’t been able to. So I found a cubicle in Bass Library one day and went to work. Once I had something I was satisfied with, I overnighted it to my parents and awaited a response. They called as soon as they got the letter. They were surprised to learn I was gay, and full of questions, but absolutely rock-solid supportive. That was the beginning of the end of feeling ashamed about who I was. I still had a ways to go, though. By the end of freshman year, I’d only come out to my parents, my brother and sister, and two friends. One day that summer, my best friend from high school and I were hanging out. “There’s something I need to tell you,” I finally said. “I’m gay.” He paused for a second, looked down at the ground, looked back up, and said, “Me too.” I was surprised. At first it was funny, and we made jokes about our lack of gaydar. Then it was kind of sad to realize that we’d been going through the same thing all along but hadn’t felt safe enough to confide in each other. But then, it was pretty cool — we probably understood each other’s situation at that moment better than anybody else could. In the weeks that followed, I got serious about coming out. I made a list of my family and friends and went through the names, checking them off one by one as I systematically filled people in on who I really was. A phone call here, a Skype call there, a couple of meals at Skyline Chili, my favorite Cincinnati restaurant. I was fortunate that virtually everyone, both from Yale and from home, was supportive and encouraging, calming my fears about how they’d react to my news. If anything, coming out seemed to strengthen my friendships and family relationships. I started talking to my dad more about being gay. Through the process of my coming out, we’d had a tacit understanding that he was my dad first and my senator a distant second. Eventually, though, we began talking about the policy issues surrounding marriage for same-sex couples. The following summer, the summer of 2012, my dad was under consideration to be Gov. Romney’s running mate. The rest of my family and I had given him the go-ahead to enter the vetting process. My dad told the Romney campaign that I was gay, that he and my mom were supportive and proud of their son, and that we’d be open about it on the campaign trail. When he ultimately wasn’t chosen for the ticket, I was pretty relieved to have avoided the spotlight of a presidential campaign. Some people have criticized my dad for waiting for two years after I came out to him before he endorsed marriage for gay couples. Part of the reason for that is that it took time for him to think through the issue more deeply after the impetus of my coming out. But another factor was my reluctance to make my personal life public. We had decided that my dad would talk about having a gay son if he were to change his position on marriage equality. It would be the only honest way to explain his change of heart. Besides, the fact that I was gay would probably become public anyway. I had encouraged my dad all along to change his position, but it gave me pause to think that the one thing that nobody had known about me for so many years would suddenly become the one thing that everybody knew about me. It has been strange to have my personal life in the headlines. I could certainly do without having my sexual orientation announced on the evening news, or commentators weighing in to tell me things like living my life honestly and fully is “harmful to [me] and society as a whole.” But in many ways it’s been a privilege to come out so publicly. Now, my friends at Yale and the folks in my dad’s political orbit in Ohio are all on the same page. They know two things about me that I’m very proud of, not just one or the other: that I’m gay, and that I’m Rob and Jane Portman’s son. I’m grateful to be able to continue to integrate my two worlds, the yin and yang of Yale and Ohio and the different values and experiences they represent in my life. When you find yourself between two worlds — for example, if you’re navigating the transition between a straight culture and a gay identity — it’s possible to feel isolated and alone, like you don’t fit in with either group that makes up a part of who you are. But instead of feeling like you don’t belong anywhere, or like you have to reject one group in order to join another, you can build a bridge between your two worlds, and work to facilitate greater understanding between them. I support marriage for same-sex couples because I believe that everybody should be treated the same way and have the same shot at happiness. Over the course of our country’s history the full rights of citizenship have gradually been extended to a broader and broader group of people, something that’s made our society stronger, not weaker. Gay rights may be the civil rights cause of the moment, but the movement fits into a larger historical narrative. I’m proud of my dad, not necessarily because of where he is now on marriage equality (although I’m pretty psyched about that), but because he’s been thoughtful and open-minded in how he’s approached the issue, and because he’s shown that he’s willing to take a political risk in order to take a principled stand. He was a good man before he changed his position, and he’s a good man now, just as there are good people on either side of this issue today. We’re all the products of our backgrounds and environments, and the issue of marriage for same-sex couples is a complicated nexus of love, identity, politics, ideology and religious beliefs. We should think twice before using terms like “bigoted” to describe the position of those opposed to same-sex marriage or “immoral” to describe the position of those in favor, and always strive to cultivate humility in ourselves as we listen to others’ perspectives and share our own. I hope that my dad’s announcement and our family’s story will have a positive impact on anyone who is closeted and afraid, and questioning whether there’s something wrong with them. I’ve been there. If you’re there now, please know that things really do get better, and they will for you too. Will Portman is a junior in Trumbull College. http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2013/03/25/portman-coming-out/

thank you so much for the wonderful reports!

Both guys are simply stunning! ...wish Washington would not wear those ear studs. {I could not remember the correct name.} They distract from his beauty {in this pic anyway}.

woohoo! celebration, baby!

My best wishes to you!!!

Older and better! (I am older than you so I can get away with saying that. )

Happiest of birthdays, Oz!

Happiest of days Totally Oz!

As Louis B Mayer once said "We've all passed a lot of water since then." So have they.

Bi / Townsend. Really appreciate the info. I am arriving on a cruise from Miami. So will see the port first hand right away. Staying at the Renaissance Barcelona, which is pretty much downtown. Between Garcia and Catalunya. I had read about the Hop On bus and figure that's a good way to go. I will be there only 24 hours. I figure coming off a cruise I will be good to go, unlike a plane trip that will wear you out. I won't be able to stay out to late which will be a bit disappointing as so much of the fun in European cities is at night. But I am flying from Barcelona to Bangkok the following morning and have to get up early. But if any of Lookin's boys show, I can stay up for 24 hours.

Paraprosdokians (Winston Churchill loved them) are figures of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected; frequently humorous. 1. Where there's a will, I want to be in it. 2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on my list. 3. Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak. 4. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong. 5. We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public. 6. I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure. 7. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit.. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad. 8. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research. 9. I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you. 10. In filling out an application, where it says, 'In case of emergency, Notify:' I put 'DOCTOR'.

What do you call a horse that is good at arts and crafts? Glue.