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Made me smile this morning so thought I would share. According to one of the articles referenced below "The church, located just south of the Rock River, even has a curious slogan we swear we're not making up: "Rising up." I can't help but think the architect had a wicked sense of humor..... http://gawker.com/christian-science-church-looks-like-a-giant-dick-from-s-1454084292 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/29/christian-science-church-_n_4174870.html

I'm thinking JKane may be pretty close to the mark. How much of that cash surcharge actually found its way back to the Air India corporate offices is a question for the ages. Next time, OZ, you might want to discreetly inquire as to whether a bit of baksheesh could help to smooth things over. Add to that the nearly infinite reservoir of resignation that most Indians have when being treated poorly by their countrymen in positions of authority, and it's surprising you haven't run into this elsewhere in your travels. I'm pretty sure that most Indian functionaries are required to take a course in How To Make Your Customer Miserable, with a mandatory do-over until they are able to cause the visible gnashing of teeth. I remember many years ago standing in what seemed to be an unending line at the Post Office to get a mailing label for a Christmas package for my parents, filling it out and affixing it, and then standing in an even longer line to actually get postage and mail the package. When I finally got to the last window, the clerk informed me that there was a mistake in the address label. I had entered 'Mr. and Mrs.' in the Name field, and it clearly was intended for only a single name. I explained that my parents had been married for many years and actually lived together, side by side, in the house whose address he would find in the following two lines. My argument carried no weight as the Name field was for one name, not two names, and the package could not possibly be sent as addressed. I would have to stand in line for another label and then again for postage. I don't think he was prepared for how quickly I drew a line through 'Mr. and' and shoved it back at him with only the 'Mrs.' visible. "Well, alright", he muttered, "but it is highly irregular." I hesitated to weigh in on this thread, as my experience with Air India was nearly a half century ago, and it was exemplary. However, it was the first time the Peace Corps had used Air India to transport volunteers and they were on their best behavior. Air India, that is, not the volunteers. Early on, the flight attendants decided that the way to the hearts of a hundred young men was to keep the alcohol flowing and that's what they did for the next twenty-odd hours. Somewhere over Shannon the liquor bottles got away from them, as did any semblance of passenger decorum, and it was a weary group of flight staff that finally touched down in Delhi. It occurred to me, in reading OZ's tale of abuse that maybe some of the folks that bedeviled him had parents or grandparents staffing our flight, and perhaps they were still carrying a grudge.

Very interesting news about American Apparel using him as a model. He has also done some limited porn: http://ifuseekandy.com/2011/06/chris-crocker-does-gay-porn/

Reason witches have black cats...

Boy Wanders Onto Stage To Hang Out With Pope Francis Pope doesn’t seem to mind the company. Thousands of Catholic families from around the world gathered at the Vatican over the weekend to celebrate the Year of Faith with Pope Francis. AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino On Saturday evening, a small group of children was invited to sit on the pope’s platform to listen to speakers from across the world speak about their faith and families. Via youtube.com While representatives from more than 80 countries addressed the pope, a little boy walked onto the stage to say hello. Ellie Hall / BuzzFeed / Via youtube.com Ellie Hall / BuzzFeed / Via youtube.com Pope Francis was visibly amused when the child stayed on the stage instead of returning to his seat on the steps. Ellie Hall / BuzzFeed / Via youtube.com He refused to leave the pope’s side, even at the encouragement of several cardinals. Ellie Hall / BuzzFeed / Via youtube.com When the representatives came forward to greet the pope, the little boy was initially not amused. Ellie Hall / BuzzFeed / Via youtube.com But then he realized what was going on and decided to help out. Ellie Hall / BuzzFeed / Via youtube.com Ellie Hall / BuzzFeed / Via youtube.com When Pope Francis began his speech, an aide attempted once again to make the child return to his seat. AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino The little boy refused, wrapping his arms around the pope in a tight hug. Osservatore Romano / Reuters Pope Francis didn’t seem to mind. Ellie Hall / BuzzFeed / Via youtube.com In fact, he seated the boy on his chair before resuming his speech. PEG @ pegobry Love. Kid runs on stage during @Pontifex speech, hugs him, Pope sits him on his chair to continue the speech. Osservatore Romano / Reuters Luke 18:16: “Let the children come to me and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” http://www.buzzfeed.com/ellievhall/boy-wanders-onto-stage-to-hang-out-with-pope-francis

There is no way on earth that anyone on the face of earth should book a flight with Air India. They are the worst airline I have ever been on and without a doubt the least professional I have eve had. First off, getting the airplane ticket was a pain in the butt as I tried to book at Air India's website. I was denied with a good credit card and told that I was trying to use it in Thailand and I am from America so it was fraud. I called them and explained that I was in Thailand and going to India. I was then told that they don't accept credit cards on the phone. I asked how can I pay for my ticket, her response was, go back to America and try or you can send us a copy of the front and back of your credit card and your ID to our support email and we will try to run the card for you in the next 7-10 business days. I was shocked as I have never heard such BS from an airline. I ended up going to the Air India office in Bangkok to purchase the ticket and they were very helpful and helped me to get everything arranged. They said I got 40k free luggage and would be charged 59 baht for each kilo after. I booked Business Class. I got to the airport in Bangkok and was told my luggage was 30k overweight and I had to pay a fee. I was then told the fee was near 500 baht per kilo. That is NOT what I was told at the Air India office but I had no choice. I said that was no problem. I went to the counter to pay and gave them the same Credit Card I used for the ticket and was told, "sorry, we don't accept credit cards. We only take cash." Are you kidding me? Cash only for extra baggage fees and on top of that the fee was 15,000 bath. It was almost the cost of my trip. I asked to speak to the manager and was told that he didn't want to come out to speak to me that he took cash only. I had the ladies call him again and he got on the phone with me and asked why I wanted to speak to him and I told him the problem with the cash only. I said I did not have cash and needed to use a credit card. He said, "cannot." He said, "you can cancel your flight but we can't refund you the flight as you have already checked in. So, I wasn't allowed to get a refund on a refundable ticket as I checked in and I wasn't allowed to pay cash for extra weight for baggage. Again, I was shocked. I fly a lot of miles per year and I fly only in business class. I have never once had any issue like this. I have never once been treated so unfairly. As I didn't have the cash on me in Thai Baht, I did have some Brazilian Reals with me. I went over to the exchange. "No, sorry Mister. No take Brazil." After 3 places, no one would exchange. I told the ladies at Air India the issue they said said, "Oh, sorry Mister. Nothing we can do." It took a few minutes but then I got the money and paid for the extra fee. I asked to actually see the manager for Air India and was told no. I asked for his name. I was told they can't give that out. I asked them if they knew the manager's name and they said yes. I asked if they could write it down for me. They said no. I then asked to see him in person and they called again. I told I needed to speak to him in person regarding this and he said there was nothing he could do and a waste of time to talk to him. He almost hung up on me but I told him I would not board the plane until I spoke to him. After a few minutes he came out. He was very nice but he said he didn't understand the problem as no one has ever asked to pay for excess fees with a credit card before. He said he had no idea why anyone would even need this service. I told him that I didn't have the cash for this today while traveling as cash is valuable. (When traveling and I always like to have at least 1k USD for emergency as you never know when you hit a snag like last year in India when the customs officer tried to extort 2,000 USD from me for a computer) He said he didn't care the reason that as cash was what they accepted. I asked why that is not stated on their website or in other areas and he said that was not his job. We argued for a bit. I asked for his business card and he reluctantly gave it to me. He asked why I wanted it and I told him that I needed it to complain to the airline. He is a true horrendous service agent. It took me nearly an hour to get him to see me and while I did make my flight I was not a happy and content business traveler. When I got to the plane, I spoke to two other business class travelers and was told they have done this before and tried to use a credit card and was old they cannot and they too asked to speak to the manager. So, the manager flat out lied. I was NOT the first person to ever ask to pay for luggage with a credit card. He simply flat out lied. He told a lie to try to save face but it was so absurd when I heard it I knew it had to be a lie. And, upon talking to other passengers, they said it was a lie. In other words, the manager was dishonest. Apparently Air India does not cater to business travelers. They want the low budget flyers. Their Business Class seats were not comfortable and not the lay flat seats I was told. Their in flight movies had no movies or anything for anyone to watch of any consequence. The food was decent but the same as served in economy on most major airlines. At the airport I had to pick up my bags and take them back to another area. But, no one knew where. 10 airport employees and 10 answers. It was insane. Not one person knew what the hell they were doing. Then, I get to the place to drop the bags and the lady there tells me I need to go upstairs to check in again. I do. They have both male and female lines. I got in the male and the guys were assholes. They were rude and unprofessional and snappy. They were just dicks. Plain and simple. Then, after I finished that, which took 20 min as they didn't know what a Kindle was or why I needed an electrical cord for my computer, iPad, iPhone, etc. I finished. I went to the Air India lounge only to find there was no Internet. Again, the people who make the rules in India are complete and utter morons with zero customer service ability. If I didn't need to spend a month with my programmers, I would have found a way to exit the country and say fuck you to India. Pure and simple! (Yes, I know unfair but a hard day for me) Air India Lounge in Delhi is the most horrific and ridiculous lounge I have ever seen. It is a business lounge that does NOT offer WiFi. They don't have their own wifi and they depend on the free airport Internet which does not work. In other words, you get a few chairs that are private and some drinks. But, nothing else. The staff is incompetent. There is NO Business lounge on earth that does not offer Internet to those in it. If no Internet, it is useless. Thus, my journey begins.

hito,, wake up, the goal here is to get you out of your comfort zone. Knit a sweater ? Have you lost your mind ? Maybe we can knit a cock-cozy ? And finger food? YOU will be the finger food. I bet you have a Very sensitive Clit ? And the trip will include a visit to my Shoe vault .

As you may recall, I get dizzy just watching Wiley go over a clift in Road Runner cartoons so I just avoid this type of stuff completely.

That it is a Christian Science church adds to the good-natured hilarity in some way that I cannot quite pin down.

Thank you to EVERYONE that posted ( and a special Thanks to hito for starting the thread) . I never knew that Anyone paid any attention to profile Birthdays. I know I don't.... I go straight to the cock size..... But while we are talking birthdays, I think the following would make a LOVELY birthday gift ! (A little of THIS, and a little of THAT, huh?)

I dream of my deceased partner ALL the time, still after 13 years, and he is always well and healthy in my dreams.

We have among us a poster who spent considerable time in India. Maybe he will chime in and tell us his experience. Personally, I have never had the desire to go there. But let's not forget what an adventurous traveler Totally Oz is. He will make the most of the situation, and he will use the experience so as not to make the same mistake twice. As far as I know, he plans to spend five weeks there, a place with no McDonalds! He will have to bathe in the dirty Ganges River. Oh well, it might beat getting sick in Cambodia. I just hope that he doesn't like beef. Jesting aside, I can't wait for the stories of his adventures to continue. Perhaps the worst has already happened and only good things wait for the rest of his visit. I hope so!

Their Wikipedia article details multiple cluster-fucks: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_India

A not atypical review on Skytrax: "My wife and kids traveled from London to Mumbai on AI130. After Landing in Mumbai, my wife told me was that it was the worst journey ever. The TV wasn't working, lights were not working, call button was not working and air hostesses were rude." So you have no one to blame but yourself, Oz. Personally, when an airline can't get all the small things I have some interface with right, I start fretting about the big stuff I can't see, the stuff that keeps the damn thing in the air.

When Freddie Laker opened the Atlantic to low fares, IATA allowed any member carriers to offer the standby one way fares for a whole year before they allowed Laker to offer them. The companies that accepted were TWA, PAA, BA, Air India and one more that does not come to me at the moment. I wanted to try them all as I was doing a lot of one way travel in those days. But when Air India lost a 747 fairly soon after departing Heathrow mysteriously, I decided I would forego them. I don't think they ever came to a conclusion about this crash even though they suspected terrorism. Even though I have had excellent passenger service on foreign carriers such as Cathay Pacific, Swiss Air and others, I still prefer to ride on US carriers. I know their "national attitude and background" and their training. Sometimes their seats may suck and sometimes their passenger service may suck but they are us and we are them. Best regards, RA1

Perhaps next time you could take the train.

Pope Francis sends e-mail on Holocaust to American Jewish leader By Elizabeth Tenety, The Washington Post October 18 at 12:35 pm Pope Francis reached out to an American Jewish leader, the son of two Holocaust survivors, in a recent e-mail exchange. The pope contacted Menachem Rosensaft, an American professor specializing in the law of genocide and war crimes trials at Columbia and Cornell, after Rosensaft sent a sermon he delivered in September on believing in God after the Holocaust, along with a personal note, to the Vatican. Vatican officials confirmed the e-mail. In the short note, Francis alluded to Rosensaft’s reflection on the possibility of God’s presence during the Holocaust, which the professor believes gave his father strength to pray even during his imprisonment and torture, and his mother the courage to rescue and tend to 149 children, largely orphans, inside a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. Francis wrote to Rosensaft, translated by The Post from Spanish: “When you, with humility, are telling us where God was in that moment, I felt within me that you had transcended all possible explanations and that, after a long pilgrimage — sometimes sad, tedious or dull – you came to discover a certain logic and it is from there that you were speaking to us; the logic of First Kings 19:12, the logic of that “gentle breeze” (I know that it is a very poor translation of the rich Hebrew expression) that constitutes the only possible hermeneutic interpretation. “Thank you from my heart. And, please, do not forget to pray for me. May the Lord bless you.” In Jewish circles, the response to the theological questions raised by the Holocaust has ranged from a rejection of God’s existence to a teaching in some ultra-Orthodox circles that sees the Holocaust as divine punishment. But for others, like Rosensaft, the Holocaust gave rise to a new way of thinking about God’s faithfulness amidst profound suffering. Rosensaft said that the pope’s acknowledgement that God was present even during the time of genocide through acts of courage and kindness “is a tremendous spiritual gift” that gives meaning to survivors of any act of violence. “What I have tried to say in my sermon, which is why it is so gratifying to have Pope Francis validate this, was that God was not the perpetrator of the horrors but God’s divine presence is in the continued humanity of the victims, that the divine presence was within those who rescued, who saved, who helped,” Rosensaft said. The outreach of the leader of the Catholic Church to the Jewish community in the context of the Holocaust and its fallout is also historically consequential. The legacy of the Catholic Church’s actions and inactions during the genocide that led to the death of 6 million Jews, and 5 million others targeted by Nazis, continues to shadow Catholic-Jewish relations. The church council known as Vatican II, which took place in the early 1960s, is often pointed to as a turning point in relations between the two groups, in particular the generation of Nostra Aetate, a Catholic document which formally denounced anti-Semitism and acknowledged the common spiritual heritage between the faiths. Since assuming the papacy, Francis, who as Cardinal Bergoglio in Argentina was known to be close with Jewish leaders, has continued to cultivate relationships with Jewish groups. In early September, Francis welcomed Ronald Lauder, the president of the World Jewish Congress, to the Vatican and, according to AP reports of their meeting, spoke of a need for the church to look into the controversial Polish ban on the Kosher practice of slaughtering animals. After their meeting, Lauder said in a statement that “in the past 2,000 years, ties between the Catholic Church and Jews had never been this good.” In the last week, the Vatican denied the request by the family of Nazi war criminal Erich Priebke for a funeral Mass. The Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), a breakaway Catholic sect still in dialogue with Rome, apparently offered to host the funeral, but then delayed the event due to outside pressure. On Friday, the Vatican announced plans for Francis to visit Israel, perhaps as early as 2014, according to the Wall Street Journal. Rosensaft sees Francis’s outreach to him as part of an ongoing evolution of understanding between the two religious traditions. “I think having the pope raise the issue to this level means that we are going to hopefully have an integration of Holocaust memory not just into the Jewish theological framework but also into the Catholic teachings. Perhaps then we can move forward together.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-faith/wp/2013/10/18/pope-francis-sends-e-mail-on-holocaust-to-american-jewish-leader/ Because You Never Know When Pope Francis Might Send You An E-Mail October 19, 2013 By Frank Weathers,Why I Am Catholic Didn’t know I could do that, did you? First it was phone calls, then it was letters and interviews. And now il Papa just might e-mail you like he did Menachem Rosensaft. Rosensaft is an American professor who specializes in genocide and war crimes trial law at Cornell and Columbia universities. He wrote Pope Francis to share a sermon he had delivered that centered around keeping faith in God throughout the dark days of the Holocaust. In her article at the Washington Post, Elizabeth Tenety says the Vatican confirms that Pope Francis e-mailed Rosensaft, and she supplied the following excerpt from it. “When you, with humility, are telling us where God was in that moment, I felt within me that you had transcended all possible explanations and that, after a long pilgrimage — sometimes sad, tedious or dull – you came to discover a certain logic and it is from there that you were speaking to us; the logic of First Kings 19:12 , the logic of that “gentle breeze” (I know that it is a very poor translation of the rich Hebrew expression) that constitutes the only possible hermeneutic interpretation. “Thank you from my heart. And, please, do not forget to pray for me. May the Lord bless you.” Read the rest of the article. I like that Tenety references, and provides a link to, Nostra Aetate, the Church’s Declaration On the Relation Of The Church To Non-Christian Religions. In our time, when day by day mankind is being drawn closer together, and the ties between different peoples are becoming stronger, the Church examines more closely her relationship to non-Christian religions. In her task of promoting unity and love among men, indeed among nations, she considers above all in this declaration what men have in common and what draws them to fellowship. One is the community of all peoples, one their origin , for God made the whole human race to live over the face of the earth. One also is their final goal, God. His providence, His manifestations of goodness, His saving design extend to all men,( Wis. 8:1 ; Acts 14:17 ; Rom. 2:6-7 ; 1 Tim. 2:4 ) until that time when the elect will be united in the Holy City, the city ablaze with the glory of God, where the nations will walk in His light. (Rev. 21:23 ) Men expect from the various religions answers to the unsolved riddles of the human condition, which today, even as in former times, deeply stir the hearts of men: What is man? What is the meaning, the aim of our life? What is moral good, what is sin? Whence suffering and what purpose does it serve? Which is the road to true happiness? What are death, judgment and retribution after death? What, finally, is that ultimate inexpressible mystery which encompasses our existence: whence do we come, and where are we going? Perhaps you think you know the answers to all of these questions. Perhaps, like me, you believe the answers to these mysteries are found in the teachings of the Catholic Church. Perhaps you don’t. What cannot be denied is that the Church has thought long and hard on these issues, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. So when she says, We cannot truly call on God, the Father of all, if we refuse to treat in a brotherly way any man, created as he is in the image of God. Man’s relation to God the Father and his relation to men his brothers are so linked together that Scripture says: “He who does not love does not know God” ( 1 John 4:8 ). No foundation therefore remains for any theory or practice that leads to discrimination between man and man or people and people, so far as their human dignity and the rights flowing from it are concerned. The Church reproves, as foreign to the mind of Christ, any discrimination against men or harassment of them because of their race, color, condition of life, or religion. On the contrary, following in the footsteps of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, this sacred synod ardently implores the Christian faithful to “maintain good fellowship among the nations” ( 1 Peter 2:12 ), and, if possible, to live for their part in peace with all men,( Rom. 12:18 ) so that they may truly be sons of the Father who is in heaven.( Matt. 5:45 ) and you feel like running away because you have to change in order to conform to the mind of Christ (and his Church), think before you leap. Remember the words of the first Captain of the Barque, Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same sufferings. The God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory through Christ Jesus will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you after you have suffered a little. To him be dominion forever. Amen. In the wise words of Chef from Apocalypse Now, “never get off the boat.” And if you ever write to Pope Francis, and you don’t want to give him your phone number, make sure you give him your e-mail address. He loves using every possible method to keep in touch with God’s children. Because he puts the “new” in New Evangelization. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/yimcatholic/2013/10/because-you-never-know-when-pope-francis-might-send-you-an-e-mail.html