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One of the things to do in the daytime in Bangkok is to go to the mall. There are several malls to go to but we always enjoy our time in Siam Paragon. Siam Paragon is HUGE! All size queens should love this mall. It has just about everything you could possible want. In Thailand, when kids in high school get out of school, many head to the malls. Also, this mall is right next to several Universities and several go there to study, meet friends and just hang out in a cool place. First, in order to get to the mall you can take public transportation or taxis. There are good things and bad things about both. For the Skytrain, it is very easy to get around anywhere that there is a skyway stop. Signs are in English and easy to read and understand. Once you buy you ticket once, you will find it a breeze the rest of the time. When you take a taxi in Bangkok during the day, be prepared for traffic. It is a true PITA to get around the city at times but that also depends on where you travel and if you know the times of the day the main traffic hits. Of course, you can always take a motorcycle taxi which is always ready to get you there faster and get out in front of the traffic. Even the animals are often excited to get to the mall. Once at Siam Paragon, you have many choices of things to do. There is a massive food court. I love the giant aquariums that you can beside. There are tons of great stores. There are places to view and buy luxury cars. There is a great bookstore that has English books but also every other language. There is a massive IMax Movie Theater with seats that are amazing and that have regular theaters and VIP theaters as well as IMax. Always you can find something for HitoallUSA as his BF is everywhere! Naturally, there is also just people watching.

One of my favorite places in the center of Rio de Janeiro. Surrounded by many restored colonial buildings as well as the João Caetano and Carlos Gomes theaters.the old royal library with carved wood reading room. A couple of years back the entire plaza was rebuilt and traffic reformulated. No longer just a bus stop but beautiful area with the magnificent statue with cobblestones and Portuguese stones. Tiradentes was a Mineiro freedom fighter in the 1700's and the portguese colonial rulers. The name comes from his early occupation as a dentist. Tirar means to take out or away, pull, etc. And the dentes part is self-explanatory. Around this square are many colonial building in various states of rehab. The next street over is where the newly-rehabbed Colonial Mint is located, fronting onto the Praca da Republica. Bordered on another side by the Firefighter's Castle in bright reds and silvers. Shiny aluminum. Museum inside that Oz and I visited. A number of benches under shady trees to give a respite from the hubbub of the big city.

Last night at 117, I saw a real one. Kind of like around 25 years ago, when an in-his-prime Nick Nolte walked right in front of me and directly into a bar. Should have been an indication of where his life would later lead him. But, I digress. Oh, Nick Nolte was so beautiful 25 years ago. But a real live Brasilian porn star. He's done lots and lots of porn. Not my type, Way, too muscular. Of course, now even more muscular. Without a doubt, a user of "a bomba" or "anabolizades" or "anabolic steroids" A strikingly remarkable face. Just like in the photos and films. I was a bit surprise that he even was working at 117 last night. I would have thought he had enough private clients to support him.

One day to go and I know I have not posted much but it was a funny trip. This is low season and not too many Gay visitors . Frankly I have become increasingly tired of the Bars and have concentrated on my Iphone contacts from previous trips and Gayromeo. Most of the boys I meet on Gayromeo also work the Bars . Spent 24 days in Pattaya and 5 nights in Bangkok Only went to the Bars a few nights. Certainly I not recommend for first time visitors this course of action but it is fine for me. Even for first time visitor I think you should explore Gayromeo and Grindr is very active in Thailand. In Pattaya it just seemed there was a constant flow of new Young talent. Legal but a lot of new 18-20 and they constantly amaze me in how experienced they can be at 18. I am just going to post some candid shots of boys I met and few copies of photos in their profile on Gayromeo. Don't waste your time complaining about how young some of them look. I assure you they are all 18-22 and even one 24 year old. Many Thai boys are only 5'5" and when they are young and small they can look much younger. Why it is important to carefully check id's And besides I like Twinks and so do many others here!

A video is floating around purporting to show everyday life for gay men in Palm Springs. Charlie and I are not in it, but we'd like to be. (I checked a bit to see if it had already eenposted here while I wasn't looking and didn't find it. Apologies if I missed it.) http://www.andrewchristianshop.com/S...an-CID444.aspx

It was back to normal at 117 last night. Almost every boy not wants 100.Very few ask me for 120. But I am sure for an English-speaking gringo they will attempt to start higher. First reason they ALL give is that Monik raised their entry by 10Reais. Of course, pure capitalism, they need to double the cost of their doing business, the entry and raise their asking price by 20Reais. On Wednesdays, Thursday and Sundays, entry remains at 10Reais, so if I go back on one of those nights, I assume that the boys will lower their pricing back to the previous 80? NOT. From about 6:00PM until about 8:15PM when I left there was a list with about 15 names. So very busy. However, everybody that signs up for the list are NOT waiting near the desk for their names to be called and you can JUMP to the head of the line before you get JUMPED by one of the boys. I asked one guy who I find very attractive, just my type, but not a very nice guy really, what he charge to go to a motel, he responded immediately 200Reais/hour, which I thought wa a bit rich as he is not too popular when I see hime there. I did finally run into PR2K's dream garoto/Adonis/god-like whore. Very young, very handsome and incredibly beautiful skin. I can only imagine what he looks like glistening when wet. There are very, very few boys with the quality of his looks. My favorite for the hottest guy there(to me) a Thiago who wears a real Tag Heuer watch and always stand in the vestibule, was without business for maybe 30-45minutes and then ran past me like a house on fire. Couldn't figure out what happened. A client took him out of there for an off-site programa. He was happy. Must have been worth his while.

Slew of court challenges threaten NSA's relationship with tech firmsUnlikely coalition takes NSA – and the telecoms firms who own much of the web's infrastructure – to court over bulk surveillance Spencer Ackerman guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 17 July 2013 08.37 EDT An avalanche of legal challenges to the National Security Agency threaten to upend one of the most delicate balances the surveillance agency labors to strike: its critical relationship with telecommunications and internet companies. An unlikely coalition of advocacy groups are taking the NSA to court, claiming the bulk surveillance it conducts on Americans phone records and their online habits is unconstitutional. One of them is aiming beyond the NSA itself, and at the companies the NSA partners with for much of that data. The NSA's relationship with those companies is critical, since much of the telecommunications infrastructure of the United States is owned and operated by private firms. While the lawsuits face significant obstacles, they stand a chance of splitting the financial and legal interests of the telecoms firms and and Internet Service Providers from those of the NSA – something that could restrict the surveillance efforts more than any legislation Congress is likely to pass. "Without the companies' participation," said former NSA codebreaker William Binney, "it would reduce the collection capability of the NSA significantly." The lawsuits, which take several different paths to blocking the bulk surveillance, are proliferating quickly. One filed on Tuesday in a California federal court united a coalition of 19 gun owners, human-rights groups, Muslim organizations, environmentalists and marijuana legalization advocates seeking a "preliminary and permanent injunction" against NSA surveillance. Their claims about the surveillance violating their speech and privacy rights echoed another suit filed last month in a New York federal court by the ACLU challenging the programs' constitutionality. Similarly, a suit first filed in California five years ago was resurrected last week after a judge ruled that revelations about bulk surveillance published by the Guardian and the Washington Post and confirmed by the government prevent the Justice Department from quashing the suit as a state secret. The Electronic Privacy Information Center petitioned the supreme court last week to "vacate an unlawful order" by the secretive Fisa court for mass phone records from Americans. Those cases still face the considerable challenges of fighting and defeating what are sure to be vigorous Justice Department challenges to their viability. Thus far, the courts have most often ruled for the government in NSA surveillance suits. Unlike in the past, however, the NSA documents published by the Guardian and the Post revealed for the first time that telecoms and Internet Service Providers were directly providing NSA with bulk customer information, allowing those customers – including the ACLU, a Verizon customer – standing to sue. But even if all those cases fail, there's another legal avenue to contest the surveillance, albeit a difficult one: lawsuits against the companies themselves. That's what the conservative group Judicial Watch is attempting. The organization filed a class-action suit last month against the internet companies named as participating in the NSA's Prism program, including Microsoft, AOL, Facebook, Google and Apple. Cases like that have long frightened the NSA. The NSA and its allies in Congress have gone to great lengths to legally shield the private-sector telephone and internet companies it works with. A 2008 law that broadened the scope of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, known as the Fisa Amendments Act, retroactively immunized any participating telecom firm from legal liability. According to an internal NSA history of the program, several firms specifically requested NSA compel them to comply through Fisa court orders, fearing an eventual court case. Underscoring how delicately the NSA treats the sanctity of its private-sector partners, the NSA would only refer to them even in a classified internal document as "Company A" and similar pseudonyms. That sensitivity exists because the telecommunications firms largely own and operate the infrastructure used to make phone calls, send emails and conduct web searches, unlike in authoritarian countries like China, North Korea and the former East Germany. Without the companies' participation, the NSA could still perform so-called "upstream" collection, such as accessing data as it transmits, for instance, across fiberoptic cables before the companies process them. "But they can't get a complete copy of everything without going to the companies," Binney said. Lawsuits against the companies place tensions, both legal and financial, on their partnership with NSA. Even the threat of spending money in court to quash customer lawsuits carries the potential for the companies to reassess the scope of their longstanding relationships with the surveillance agency. The lawsuits are a more direct challenge to the NSA than the convoluted and uncertain legislative or political processes. While several senators and members of Congress are talking about revising the Patriot Act to restrict bulk telephone records collection, support in Congress for the NSA runs deep, and it is difficult to forecast what reforms, if any, might pass. Similarly, the secret Fisa Court bristles at accusations that it's a rubber stamp, but it approves almost all surveillance requests. That leaves citizens upset with the surveillance to pursue their rights as customers of the companies participating with the NSA. "If you want to raise costs to the companies participating with NSA, you raise the time and effort they spend defending themselves from allegations that their participation in NSA surveillance programs is unlawful," said Amie Stepanovich, a lawyer with the Electronic Privacy Information Center. "But the downfall of suing the companies are the companies' inevitable filings that they were just complying with the law." Yet the obstacles to suing the companies are significant. The 2008 law explicitly says: "No cause of action shall lie in any court against any electronic communication service provider for providing any information, facilities, or assistance." Alex Abdo, a lawyer with the ACLU working on the civil liberties group's challenge to the NSA, said the immunization provisions are not necessarily insurmountable for suing the companies. "You could still sue Verizon and ask them to stop, even if you're not asking for damages," Abdo said. "I don't think the immunity provision applies to that." Even as the scope of the companies' liability is set to be litigated, some of the NSA's partners are attempting to limit their customers' discontent. On Tuesday, Microsoft publicly asked Attorney General Eric Holder to lift the veil of secrecy over its cooperation with NSA so it can "publish the volume of national security requests we have received." That followed a Monday ruling by the Fisa court for the Justice Department to release information showing Yahoo at times resisted cooperation even when compelled by the court. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/17/nsa-court-challenges-tech-firms

I found this article on Forbes and thought some of you might like it. The recent protests in Brazil that have caused Dilma Rousseffs approval rate to drop by 27% in less than three weeks, which started as a local protest against public transport fare increase in São Paulo. As São Paulo continues to be at the epicenter of Brazils massive protests, the city has been making international headlines daily . Therefore, it is a good time to increase your knowledge about Brazils largest city. Here is all you need to know about São Paulo: São Paulo is both the name of a state, as well as, a city. Those born in the city of São Paulo are called Paulistanos. Those born in the state of São Paulo but, not in its capital, are called Paulistas. To illustrate, there are three Paulistanos soccer teams in the first division of the national league: Portuguesa, São Paulo and Corinthians, which is the only billionaire soccer club in Brazil. Accordingly, there are two Paulistas soccer teams in Brazils Serie A: Ponte Preta and Santos FC. São Paulo state has 645 municipalities and a population of approximately 40 million inhabitants. According to IBGE, Brazils main government research institute, the population in the city of São Paulo is about 11 million inhabitants. If we take into account the metropolitan area, which includes 38 smaller cities around the capital, the population is almost 19,000,000 inhabitants. In Brazil, 81.3% of the population lives in urban areas even though the amazon rainforest covers up to 57% of the total area of Southern hemispheres largest country. This urban concentration helps to explain why it is more expensive to rent an office in São Paulo than in New York City. São Paulo metropolitan region totals 847 thousand students enrolled in institutes of higher education (mainly colleges and universities), 90% are enrolled in private institutions and 10% in public ones. According to Sindata, which provides data about São Paulos education ecosystem, there are 202 private institutions of higher education and 20 public one in São Paulo metropolitan are, representing a growth of 47% in the total of institutions of higher education since 2000. (See: Brazils Multi-Billion Dollar Education Industry: Shaping Futures, Changing Lives, and Minting Billionaires). In 2013, São Paulo ranked 6th in Forbes List of the Top 10 Billionaire cities. There are 26 billionaires (up from 19 last year) with primary residences in São Paulo. Together, their total net worth is superior to $120 billion. The average billionaire living is São Paulo is worth $4.65 billion. However, São Paulo is not included in the list of the top 20 cities with the largest amounts of millionaires. (See: All you ever needed to know about Brazilian billionaires). One of the biggest challenges of living in São Paulo is definitively the commute. In São Paulo, the average traffic jams on Friday evenings is 180km (112 miles) and as long as 295km (183 miles) on bad days according to local traffic engineers. However, smart visitors can get a free pass if they stay in Jardins, Highienópolis or Centro as most sights, galleries, restaurants and shops will be within easy reach. There are 420 helicopters registered in São Paulo, a total second only to New York, according to the Brazilian Association of Helicopter Pilots. In São Paulo state there are 700 registered helicopters and 1,900 in Brazil. São Paulo has 12,500 restaurants. Including more pizzerias than any city worldwide. The most renowned paulista restaurant is D.O.M., which has been in the list of the worlds best restaurants for the past eight years. Alex Atala, the worlds most influential chef, was born in São Paulo and runs both D.O.M. and Dalva & Dito. São Paulo is home to the largest Japanese diaspora in the world. There are 1.5 million people of Japanese origin living in SP. The architect Ruy Othake, one of the most emblematic Japanese-Brazilians, is the head behind the half-moon-shaped Hotel Unique, one of São Paulos most recognizable landmarks and South Americas most surprising hotel. São Paulos Japan town neighborhood is called Liberdade, which means freedom in Portuguese, and has a McDonalds with a Japanese-style garden around the back. São Paulo is home to the worlds largest gay parade. According to the organizers, 3.5 million people attended the 17th Gay Pride parade and the festivities that followed on June 2, 2013. According to Paul Thompson, founder of LGBT Capital, a specialist asset management and corporate advisory business for this sector, the Brazilian LGBT market is worth R$ 300 billion (US$133 billion) and is booming. This estimate puts Brazils gay market only behind its European ($870 billion), American ($750 billion) and Chinese ($300 billion) counterparts. http://www.forbes.com/sites/ricardogeromel/2013/07/12/all-you-need-to-know-about-sao-paulo-brazils-largest-city/

I can't get enough of this one.

Firecat, thanks for sharing! I hope that there is more to come.

I have to concur with marcanthony that this remark reflects an extraordinarily reductive view of addiction and the routes out of it which the clinical data do not support.

For me, a break from posting was a great idea. I don't intend to post at the level at which I was once known, but I do enjoy the interaction, especially considering how many interesting, smart, and well-traveled men post here. Having said that, if tomcal is taking a much-needed break from here, more power to him. But I would like to express the thought that my return here found his absence disconcerting as I consider him to be one of the more valuable members of the board. Thus, I hope he is in fact just taking a break and plans to rejoin us. He's not just a great guy to be in Brazil with, he's a great guy to be posting with. Here's to his health, happiness, and continued travels, which I hope to hear all about!

A woman is having an affair during the day while her husband is at work. Her 9 year old son comes home unexpectedly, sees them and hides in the bedroom closet to watch. The woman's husband also comes home. She puts her lover in the closet, not realizing that the little boy is in there already. The little boy says, "Dark in here." The man says, "Yes, it is." Boy - "I have a baseball." Man - "That's nice." Boy - "Want to buy it?" Man - "No, thanks." Boy - "My dad's outside." Man - "OK, how much?" Boy - "$250" In the next few weeks, it happens again that the boy and the lover are in the closet together. Boy - "Dark in here." Man - "Yes, it is." Boy - "I have a baseball glove." The lover remembering the last time, asks the boy, "How much?" Boy - "$750" Man - "Fine." A few days later, the father says to the boy, "Grab your glove, let's go outside and have a game of catch." The boy says, "I can't, I sold my baseball and my glove." The father asks, "How much did you sell them for?" Boy - "$1,000" The father says, "That's terrible to overcharge your friends like that...that is way more than those two things cost. I'm going to take you to church and make you confess." They go to the church and the father makes the little boy sit in the confession booth and he closes the door. The boy says, "Dark in here." The priest says, "Don't start that shit again."

Oz, thanks for this post. I think I went to this mall a few months after it had opened and was surprised by its initial ambience, its architecture and design, and all the offerings. It even has one or two or more supermarkets. I truly enjoyed going into this one and just browsing and noting how the merchandise/food stuffs, etc...were displayed!!!

I, too, hope that Tom returns soon because he gave valuable information to all of us who've traveled to Brasil, and for me, salient data regarding our interests for parts of Europe and the US as well. I hope to be traveling to parts of Eastern Europe in September on a postponed trip; Tom gave me additional information for a contact in Prague, a guy who's written to me in the past, an escort I am eager to meet when I am there in September. Tom posted some great pics of guys as well. When he decides to return here, I do hope that he'll resume doing what he's done oh, so well previously! I, for one, has missed his visuals as well as his words here! Along with Lucky and others, I wish him well in "his health," "happiness," and his "continued travels, which I hope to hear all about"-- too!

Hey. Sorry. I goofed. I get my Diego's/Diogo's/Thiago's/tiago's mixed up quite often. The names are all derived from the biblical Yaakov or Jacob, by the way. The mostly ativo boy, for a very few he might even deign to suck dick poorly with a condom, wearing a two-toned Tag Heuer who fled 117 with a client last night is Diego. 5'11"or 6'0" If he even shows, normally only on a Tuesday, hardly ever on a Friday, and never other nights of the week. Supposedly he strips for women on Saturdays and Fridays if he can get a gig. Incredibly gorgeous, kind of reddish/blondish/light borwn hair with a close mustache/beard, beautiful muscled body, developed but not too much. He never trolls for clients downstairs or in either of the bars. He stakes out his spot right at the stairs on the main level. Stands there looking gorgeous in all of his glory. Mixed him up with an ativo/liberal who I have in my cell as Thiago Musculoso/The Muscular. He has incredible abdominals that a miniaturized model of the lunar rover would have trouble negotiating. He is normally there on Tuesdays and Fridays. Never any other nights. He claims to be a photographic model for swimsuits. And he tells me he has a job from 8AM- 3PM. Basically a shorter, more muscled version of Diego with the kind of smile that will hypnotize you. About 5'8" and need I say, well hung and stay very hard. He never needs to go into the movie room to get a stiffy. And he does walk around on both floors, circling, circling, circling like a shark searching for its next victim. He is really a personable guy. Unlike many of the guys who are not very well-spoken, this one is quite nice.

Now here is a guy who can destroy a 1,000 livers after only one press conference if used in a drinking game similar to one proposed regarding hito's postings. Hito is a rank amateur and piker compared to this guy. Best regards, RA1

So they have a white kitchen and a single Chinese book for sale. That's one interpretation! But I love Siam and I love Siam Paragon. There are some other neat malls in the same area, Central Plaza and MBK are both huge. I get quite confused in MBK, both getting lost and wondering what all of those electronic gadgets are for. My big question is who has the money to keep these malls operating? It must cost a fortune, and Oz cannot do it alone.

IHPGUY, I think it is great that you provide us up to date sauna reports. Thanks!

There is a really hot guy, who works at Meio Mundo and Pointe 202, looks like he could or should have done multiple porn shoots for LatinJocks.com but on Monday night swore up, down and sideways that he had not. A Baiano - and all that indicates - from Brasilia, supposedly here in Rio for 4-5 months, ativo liberal and a real 8 1/2 inches with a wild curve and a great smile, wonderfully talented as I discovered last week, nome de guerra of Thiago(yet another) real second/middle name of Roque, wants 400Reais as well. But that was with no negotiating. I'm fairly certain he might be convinced for a bit less. Although not sure, as he is quite the looker.

Dershowitz's contentious views on the case, the bringing of which he has always been critical. Interesting his comments why federal civil-rights charges won't be brought.

I did not chat at all with PR2K's Fernando so I do not have a clue what he wants. I have talked to Thiago, who happens to be quite striking and claims to be a part-time swimsuit model and is only at 117 perhaps one weekly. Maybe twice. I talked to him last night and he had other "stuff" going on. Whatever that means. And an overnight with him is 400Reais. Another Fernando I met in my search for PR2K's Fernando, I went with last night. We had a great time and talked about an overnight. He is at 250. TomCal has posted many times that the guys he goes with are happy with the 150Reais he hands them. That used to be the price I paid as well. But lately have not even found any guys I was interested in bringing home. So...all I can say at this moment. Of course, one has to feed and water them as well, We are talking higher-quality horseflesh. And in the case of my avatar, a supply of marconha/ herva or in the US we'd say grass is appreciated.

I've been told it makes their balls shrink. I can attest to definite personality changes. An ex-boyfriend used them before we met. And then after we met began using once more. I broke up with him three times in six months as mood shifts occurred. He never had a problem getting and keeping a hard on nor ejaculating.

Beautiful! Stunning! Thank you for sharing!

Male Logic: Woman: Do you drink beer? Man: Yes Woman: How many beers a day? Man: Usually about 3 Woman: How much do you pay per beer? Man: $5.00 which includes a tip Woman: And how long have you been drinking? Man: About 20 years, I suppose. Woman: So a beer costs $5 and you have 3 beers a day which puts your spending each month at $450. In one year, it would be approximately $5400 …correct? Man: Correct Woman: If in 1 year you spend $5400, not accounting for inflation, the past 20 years puts your spending at $108,000, correct? Man: Correct Woman: Do you know that if you didn’t drink so much beer, that money could have been put in a step-up interest savings account and after accounting for compound interest for the past 20 years, you could have now bought a Ferrari? Man: Do you drink beer? Woman: No Man: Where’s your Ferrari?

thanks for sharing! beautiful boys!

Seems to me only those who have actually experienced addiction are qualified to judge other addicts, and everybody else is lucky to just be guessing.

First, happy that you retracted "good riddance." I was worried you were going to join these guys at his funeral http://tv.yahoo.com/news/westboro-baptist-church-plans-cory-monteith-funeral-protest-140119597.html Whether we are talking heart disease, lung disease, infectious disease, diabetes, mental disease... many many diseases which can begin with some degree of personal culpability... I will always believe that compassion is a better first reaction than judgement. And I am just surprised that those of us on a gay message board would feel differently after we have lived through the evolution of public opinion during the era of HIV.