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Things are looking better for sure in the gogo boy arena in gay Bangkok! I thought some things might be closed this weekend but they were not. All were open. Jupiter had about 15 or so guys. They had a beautiful singer who was talented and sang like an angel. I loved listening to him. I think they got him singing early just so I would drink. I almost left as I hate shows. But, holy cow, he was good. I sat and listened and had a drink with him later. Dreamboys is still overly expensive and overrated. Some good looking guys but nothing the likes of other bars. Screwboys had over 13 boys. That was the most I have seen since they reopened. I gave them each 100 baht as I was the only customer. Freshboys was filled with cute boys but few customers. Hotmale was packed with boys and with customers. Perhaps the only place with more customers than boys. Well, not perhaps. 100% certain. They were filled and selling drink after drink.

All I can say is: Past performance is not indicative of future results, which is the classic investment adage that can be applied to going to the saunas here in Brazil. WIth the frequency in which I visit the saunas, I rarely get surprised anymore. But when I do, its because my assumptions were challenged. Just when I thought I've seen and heard everything, hear comes a boy that knocks my socks off, which makes the trip worth it. And its not all about sex either, its everything. I am in Recife now, and I met a boy that has gave me the biggest surprise of my Brazil life. I've always thought Termas Boa Vista, the main boy sauna here in Recife, as mediocre with boys but superior in sauna facilities. But the boy I met last night, oh boy, I was genuinely surprised in the encounter. DIDN't SEE IT COMING. Maybe I will share in a future post on here. Last night's encounter alone made the whole trip worth it. And I am not easily impressed. I simply prefer Club 117 simply because they have "quality control" i.e. they are not araid to ban boys that have behaved badly in the past. Point 202 seems to be have less scruples, and welcome all-comers, which sometimes is problemactic. Even Lions Club bans boys if a customer complains about them. As for the quality of boys, maybe Club 117 "gets" my taste in men, but when Point 202 delivers the goods as well, it delivers well. All I can say is, I don't discount something because of past performance. I try and try, until I find that one encounter that takes my breath away. Last night was that night. Hopefully more to come. And it will only come if I try. LOL, i know right. You have seen me in action. That other guy has ninja like reflexes and got to the boy before I did. sad This was two weeks ago. Yup Copa beach can get deserted. We took some beers to the beach that one night and just drank and talked till early morning. Copa can be a nice and tranquil place at night. Thanks for the reminder. I have been told by other boys about the impending opening, which is tomorrow. I am Recife at the moment so I will have to catch them when I get back to the SE of Brazil. Indeed, I am loving my times in Latin America. On Grindr I sometimes get a line like "I've never been with an Asian guy before" etc. I guess its nice to be fetishized once in a while? Indeed, Brazil has a fairly big Japanese settlement, especially in Sao Paulo (and thus you get gorgeous half asian boys that have the best of everything - the asian smooth skin, the Brazilian heat, the asian face, the Brazilian cock etc etc). I've probably had the craziest reaction in Colombia, where there are even less asians. I love Grindr there. Mexico city too is another city that I like too. San Juan, CR as well. I guess what I am saying is, its nice to be asian and in Latin America LOL. I appreciate it as well when a long read is at least readable with the white space to separate paragraphs and moments. I write like how I like reading something. Makes sense. When is Fragata opening? Thanks for the kind words. New and unexpected is the key. Why do something if you already know the results? Its better if you are surprised, and you get to push yourself further. More, next. I wish I had more time to write. The balance of experiencing things and wanting to write about it is always a struggle.

thepattayanews.com has posted articles and videos on the influx of domestic tourists to our fair city for the long weekend. Walking St, Soi Buakaew and Koh Larn businesses should be happy.

LOL yes it’s easy to confuse Poppy and PJ at first. Based on the FB schedule (if you visited between 9-10.30 PM) and recent posts, I’m guessing you actually met PJ. They haven’t advertised Poppy recently.

There are many great hotels now offering staycations for cheap rates. I just booked the Marriott for a weekend for 999 a night and it includes breakfast buffet. Yummy! With status match that Marriott is now offering, staying just 15 days in 90 day period upgrades your account. Totally worth it for 35 USD a night. IMHO

As John Lovett said, the WH knows this is bad, bad, bad, bad. https://mobile.twitter.com/jonlovett/status/1301711229476429826 https://mobile.twitter.com/PeteButtigieg/status/1302616512046477312

I visited the bar 2 times in february. On both days there were 2-3 boys and I found all of them cute and I consider myself a picky bastard The boys were also very friendly. On both days I left the bar more than happy. My only complaint about the bar was the bathroom in the room upstairs with no proper working shower. On the first day the guy drove me back to the hotel and told me, that in the street of my hotel there is a new bar supposed to open soon. I guess that never happened.

I was hoping members here can do exactly that lol there are some videos in IG showing boys with numbers, although i saw the same video first in twitter.

From The Diplomat The shrinking Tonle Sap, the river’s “beating heart,” is the latest wake-up call of the damage wrought by dams. By Tom Fawthrop The miracle of the Mekong, where the pulsating force of the monsoon-driven river every year pushes its tributary to back up and reverse its flow into the great Tonle Sap lake in Cambodia, has again been disrupted and obstructed by dams, drought, and climate change. “This is a terrible disaster for the whole Mekong region,” Thai academic Chainarong Setthachua declared. He told The Diplomat, “If we lose the Tonle Sap we lose the heart of the biggest inland fisheries in the world.” The lake is a critical fishing ground for Cambodia, as well as supporting fish migrations along the entire Mekong. Back in 2014, Chheng Phen, the former director of Cambodia’s Inland Fisheries Research and Development Institute, told the New York Times, “If the Tonle Sap does not function,” he said, “then the whole fishery of the Mekong will collapse.” That is exactly what the Mekong region is facing today. For the second year running, the wild pulsating waters of the Mekong have failed to work their traditional monsoon magic, which in normal times empowers the Tonle Sap lake to expand to five times its dry season size. The Tonle Sap’s area before (left) and after the annual flooding expands its banks. Image courtesy of Eureka Films. It is hard to exaggerate the extent of the unfolding disaster caused primarily by Chinese dams upstream, trapping both water and sediment that is vital to the healthy survival of the Mekong ecosystem. The Tonle Sap crisis has also been greatly exacerbated by the two Lao dams – the Xayaburi dam and the Don Sahong launched in 2019 – that have blocked fish movement and sediment. Thailand and Malaysia are the developers and prime investors for those projects. The Mekong-driven reverse flow had for centuries transformed the Tonle Sap lake, flooding what was once a sizable forest into part of the largest inland lake in Southeast Asia. In normal times the arrival of the rainy season flood and the reversal of the Tonle Sap tributary replenishes an amazing nursery of the fisheries by giving birth to the flooded forest of the lake. But in 2020, like last year, too little water arrived and too late in the five-month rainy season from June to October. In 2019 the belated arrival of the flood pulse in mid-August led to the influx of shallow, warm, oxygen-starved waters and countless thousands of dead fish. The same drought syndrome is happening again in 2020, with the damaged Mekong monsoon flow too weak push the Tonle Sap tributary back into the lake until mid-August (in a normal year it starts in June). The Stimson Foundation’s Mekong specialist Brian Eyler recalled the wider impacts of last year’s disaster, now repeating itself: “The Tonle Sap’s 2.5 million fishermen took on higher levels of debt to cope with the extremely low fish catch. Now in 2020 it is maybe worse. These cycles of high debt and low fish catch can only be repeated so many times before the economy around the lake and likely the country itself begins to fall apart.” Senglong Youk, the Tonle Sap team leader of local NGO FACT (Fisheries Action Coalition), estimates that 20-30 percent of all fishermen have abandoned their livelihood to look for alternative employment. Eyler, who is also the author of “The Last Days of the Mighty Mekong,” closely monitors China’s dams upstream. His research has now confirmed that “Chinese dams in July 2020 began to restrict an unprecedented amount of water while the countries downstream suffered drought in a repeat performance of last year.” While the Chinese government and the Mekong River Commission (MRC) have claimed the primary causes of the drought are extra low rainfall and the El Nino effect, several studies have convincingly shown that these factors are far less important in causing the decimation of lower Mekong fisheries than the rapid expansion of hydropower. A 2013 study from Aalto University in Finland conducted by Timo Rasanen demonstrated the impacts of upstream dams far outweighed climate change in its effects on the Tonle Sap lake. Ian Cowx, director of Hull University’s International Fisheries Institute (HIFI) in the U.K., explained via email that the biggest long-term obstacle to the recovery of fisheries would not come from climate change and this drought, but rather from the dams upstream. “All fish species are adapted to periods of droughts and floods,” he wrote. “The big issue here is the reduction in flows caused by Chinese dams, the Lower Sesan 2 dam [on a Mekong tributary in Cambodia], and the loss of the Hou Sahong channel because of Don Sahong dam.” All these dams – not only the Chinese but also Thailand’s massive Xayaburi dam in Laos and the Malaysian-promoted Don Sahong dam – have changed the hydrology flow of the river and undermined the flood-pulse. Continues at https://thediplomat.com/2020/09/the-last-farewell-to-the-mighty-mekong/ (Tom Fawthrop, based in Southeast Asia, has been a regular contributor to the Guardian, Economist, South China Morning Post, and The Diplomat for many years)

Found this place from my casual browsing of social media. Anyone have experience or have anything to report about the place? From the pic i saw, definitely some good looking guy there. Located at ratchada Soi 7.

One more reason to go back to Jupiter. lol

Jeeze, I am old. Now, I have to go back next week and ask his name.

one case ... must be immaculate conception

an additional observation from this evening in Patpong: Bangkok Massage was open, too. Hadn't seen them open at all yet whenever I passed.

ONE SINGLE case and major panic breaks out. Even the Phuket project gets delayed because of it: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1980435/phuket-reopening-delayed What does the one case have to do with the Phuket tourist model? Nothing I'd say. What would they have done had that one local case occurred in October when the Phuket was already running? Have all the tourists (assuming there are any) pack up and send them home? Goes to show how scared shitless they still are.

dirt cheap hotel offers are everywhere. Even the Mandarin Oriental, normally not engaging in heavy discounting is offering a staycation package for 9,999 Baht for one night. Early check in at 8 or 9 am, late check out at 8 or 9 pm, so you get 36 hours in the hotel. Package includes some cash credit to be used in the hotel and other goodies. Many many hotels in BKK are offering such packages, some even with TWO breakfasts included given the early check-in. In Chiang Mai, 5 star rooms can be had at 20% of their usual pre-covid rates, sometimes less. Combine that with the tiaowduaygan government subsidy of another 40% and it feels like almost free. Done that in Samui recently, and will do it again in Chiang Mai next week. (Have to travel with a Thai and do the bookings in his name, of course)

A boy I met on the train invited me to stay with his family in the medina of Fez. They apologized for not having hot water (it was August in Marrakesh, for X's sake) and their shower was a spigot right over the squat toilet. One would stand in flip-flops on the foot placements and the water went right down the toilet, giving it an extra clean out too, I suppose. I forgot about the soldier I met while we waited hours for a transfer in an Algerian desert town. He looked like John Kennedy Jr. How I regret not taking up his invitation to his family home in Algiers.

The Arabs in their own country are far more friendly, warm, chatty, and welcoming. In Europe, they are just like any Westerners. Some seem sullen and beaten down by all the issues facing largely unwelcomed immigrants anywhere. It's not just about looks.

They have line and pictures of boys available with their height and weight. And almost all are shirtless. The menu named hot item, and its a google drive folder with a title model. And i also recognized two of the guys listed. One has been invited in moonlight before as one of their special model, and another i just happened to follow his ig coz, well i dont need a reason to follow a hot thai guy now do i? Lol

If it looks expensive, I would not go around with a camera hanging from my neck. Friends are painting a country with few foreign tourists, I am not sure whether that means you will be safer or easier to be targeted. This really depends on how vulnerable you look like. You will not need lots of cash, only to pay for the boys, mostly everything can be paid with a CC (even beach stands and some GPs). If you need cash, it is easy to get it from an ATM with your debit or credit card. Despite other friends' advise, I only drank tap water in Salvador and Rio with no problems.

Yes that was him! Now, I know why 10k baht didn't seal the deal.

He is probably Poppy. You can find a few links to videos in my travel report: https://www.gayguides.com/forums/topic/12806-travel-observations-not-a-full-report/?do=findComment&comment=142991 https://www.gayguides.com/forums/topic/12806-travel-observations-not-a-full-report/?do=findComment&comment=143004

Occurs that one would like to resurrect the first Elizabeth, and bring her iron fist over here as Executive to straighten out our own many messes right now.

I actually found it rather charming. Let me slip into something more comfortable. We can be like two queens having a nice long chat.

When i was in hua hin before, i got a massage session at our hotel and the masseur is obviously gay. Not my type, so i didnt engage further but im pretty sure many members might find him attractive. The massage was sensual too. So that is also one more option to find a boy there i assume. Had similar experience at hotel in siem reap as well, and that time the masseur even asked if i wanted more, to which i politely refuse.

Grindr, hornet, blued always options. smiles, a veteran poster lives in Hua Hin may be able to offer advice, especially if he’s around. I believe he posts on Sawatdee and/or gaybuttonthai. another option is to bring a boy or two with you.

It appears that they choose the guy to play silly games like this?

Yup, jasper shared it here on hub club

A little more information. They have VIP sofas for 9000 baht upwards. 9000 baht gets you 4 bottles of Red Label. They also have memberships which gives you 10% discount on your bill. Sophisticated bill payment such as a contactless credit card scanner so you can continue to spend a lot of cash during a pandemic. Mr Tee, a Moonlight model in the early days is now working there. There is another similar club called Hub Club which is much more interesting to me as it looks like the guys go shirtless.

They have a FB page too but I don’t see any numbers. Looks like a normal club. My limited knowledge is that calling the guys only gets them to your table for drinks, not off. I guess the only way to know for sure is for us to visit and report back!

@AdamSmith noted in a different thread that history has a way of turning on itself, in response to my point about 2004 and the "Swiftboating" of John Kerry. I'm continuing this here, since I didn't realize there was a thread on this subject. Here's another weird turn of history: Evidence piles up that the phony Atlantic story about Trump and troops was a slime job to boost Biden It's a thoughtful enough article if you care to read the whole thing. Maybe about 20 % of it reiterates that that this obviously can't be true, because people around President Toxic say it's not true. The other 80 % is about how this is all part of a .......................................... wait for it ......................................................................... vast left-wing conspiracy. Who'd a thunk that if we waited a generation, right wing rags like American Spectator would be repurposed as the new and conservative Hillary Clinton? This is a perfect metaphor for Trumpism. Because the argument collapses on itself. It's fine to argue that The Atlantic is one of the vague dark forces out there. But they might want to at least mention that three other major media outlets have confirmed the general thrust of the story. And, yeah, granted. Two of the other three are no doubt part of the vast left wing conspiracy. So why bother with those facts? But who'd a thunk that, nowadays, even Fox News is part of the vast left wing conspiracy?

There's something else I like about the idea, as an intermediate term political strategy. I like the idea that the message it sends certain (Tea Party/Trumpist) Republicans is, "Fuck off. You have no say. Shut the fuck up. What you think doesn't matter. In other words, fuck off." Now let me walk that back. Some parts of the US political system are clearly designed to foster moderation and protect the interests of minorities. We know, of course, that the Founding Fathers weren't particularly interested in "minority rights" if that meant their slaves. But smaller states having the same number of Senators who serve six years terms, and the Electoral College, fall in this category. So does the filibuster. In theory, it makes sense to say if we're going to make some big change like Medicare or Obamacare it ought to be able to get 60 votes. All that depends on the notion that compromise and getting things done is a priority. Or, it depends on the notion that the goal is the opposite. We're just looking for ways to obstruct and get nothing done. So I'll give a short rendition of a few pieces of history that I think most Democrats would agree with. Some Republicans blame Bill Clinton for poisoning the well. If they argue that Bill Clinton's cock poisoned the well, I'd agree with them. If we're talking politics, they're dead wrong. It's the opposite, I think. Clinton was a master at making offers Republicans could not refuse. When Kasich and other Republicans (Morning Joe) talk wistfully about that time like it was a Golden Age, I agree. A lot of important shit got done. It involved lots and lots of compromises. So my vote for Asshole Of The Decade who poisoned the well back then goes to Newt Gingrich. I view Tea Party the same way. Democrats can say that Mitch McConnell was already vowing complete obstruction the night Obama won. Republicans can say Obama was arrogant and he sucked at schmoozing or even tolerating people who disagreed. My view is all you have to do is follow the laws. Immigration reform passed 68-32 in the US Senate in 2013. Meaning McConnell didn't vote for it, but he didn't obstruct it. Obama said publicly that he didn't like some parts of the law, but that's what compromise was about. He wanted to sign it. It died in the House. And that was all on the Tea Party's Freedom Caucus. That's fact. The theory I buy is that by around that time Republicans like Boehner were starting to understand that they could no longer control their base. One Republican Senator expressed it this way: "We used to be the party of the Chamber of Commerce. Now we're the truck driver party." My personal breaking point was Justice Rapist. By that point I'd heard a mouthful of attacks by supposedly sensible Republicans against "RINOs" like Kasich and McCain, some of which I've posted here. I know why Justice Rapist was the straw that broke the camel's back for me. Having fought good fights for good laws on Capitol Hill, I saw that nomination as a complete abortion of both process and truth. They lied, they lied, and they lied. In any other Presidency, they would have withdrawn the nominee for another conservative. So when I say "Fuck off", I don't mean the Kasichs and the McCains - or the Republican Govenors like DeWine or Hogan. I mean the Toxic Trump wing of the Republican Party. After what I feel is decades of lies and obstruction, I don't give a flying fuck what they think, or how they feel. Even though I feel like I'm right, I actually don't even give a shit if I'm right. The # 1 rule of organizing to me is, "the action is in the reaction". These assholes spent several decades getting me (and, I think, the majority of Americans) to this point. So if they don't like it, they only have themselves to blame. This is not a good political argument to make to moderates. And there is no assurance that we can steamroll who I view as the assholes in the room. But I've eliminated working with them and compromise as an option. I'd rather take the risk of trying something else. And I'll mention in closing. The idea that it's okay to steamroll most Republicans, including ones like Kasich, through things like ballot initiatives makes more sense to me given the nature of this fight. To me, it is a fight for democracy itself. Moving to a popular vote could in fact have some unintended negative consequences. But the idea that the candidate who gets 2 million more votes than the other one is the winner is not an obviously bad idea. I think it's actually important to let Republicans know that the lesson we've learned is there is just no point in working with or talking to some of them. The ones who want unity and compromise - like Kasich, and Hogan - are quite capable and quite good at letting people know that's the kind of Republican they are.

History has a way of turning on itself, if we have a little patience, and some disremove until it does.

Well, I wouldn't have posted it if I thought it was easily disprovable bullshit. After all, that would be terribly unfair to a decent and truthful man like President Trump. Actually, the reason not to do it is that this kind of thing can blow up in the face of the ones who started it. Which is what's so interesting about this. Presumably the people who started it are some of the most respected military leaders in the country. I'd love to find out whether The Atlantic went to them, or they went to The Atlantic. I suspect it's some of both. General Kelly's silence is deafening. All the denials from the Likely Liars like Pence and Pompeo only makes the fact that Kelly is not denying it more obvious. And if President Toxic expects that Kelly will do the valiant thing and tell the truth, which will clear President Trump's highly respected name, why is he trashing Kelly? The shit he is saying about Gen. Kelly actually CONFIRMS that he is more than capable of trashing military leaders his bone-spurred little brain has zero respect for. As much as I respect him, I'll reiterate that I'm not that hopeful that a conservative thought leader like George Will can purge the Republican Party of its self-destructive factions when President Toxic loses. But conservative military leaders? That's a different thing. Mattis weighed in already, publicly, in June. But his words come to mind. Be nice to every President in the room. But also have a plan to kill him. That's what this feels like to me. This could go on for the next two months. At some point, maybe Kelly will speak up. Or maybe someone else will. The longer Kelly waits, the more it sets him up to say, "Yes, it's true. The President said that about my son. But I felt I had an obligation to be silent out of respect for the Constitution, which mandates that the military is subordinate to the people." That's a twofer. He tightens the rope around President Toxic's neck for his contempt for the military. And he also reminds people that President Toxic has contempt for The Constitution, too. Biden may not have dementia, but I'm beginning to think I do. My recollection is that the Swift Boaters killed Kerry's campaign, and that happened in September. In fact, according to Wikipedia, they started the ads on August 4, 2004. And the attacks and rebuttals on Kerry's military record ran through August, culminating in the RNC in late August/early September. General Election 2004: Bush v. Kerry I'd take a glance at the 2004 Bush/Kerry horse race polls. When I looked at it I immediately assumed that the huge spike in early September was the "Swift-boating" of Kerry. But that's wrong. Like I said, that started in early August. What moved the dial was the RNC. It was a tie through most of August. Right after the RNC W. opened up an 8 point lead. It makes sense. Nicole Wallace keeps saying they knew that if 2004 was a referendum on W. or Iraq, he would lose. They had to make it a choice election. The RNC allowed them to do that. I have a few other reasons for bringing this up, one of which is obvious. That did not just happen in 2020. If President Toxic is going to make this a choice election - like between "Jobs And Mobs" - the RNC was his shot. If he was going to surge into the lead, like W. did in 2004, we would know by now. It just didn't happen. Poor decent, honest Donald! Why can't a nice fella like him ever catch a break? My biggest fear all year long is that 2004 was the precedent for 2020. An unpopular President loses the election but wins because of the Slavery Is Good Electoral College. Then even though his awful record makes clear he should lose his bid for a second term, in my mind, somehow he barely manages to win re-election. That could happen. But if you look at the 2004 horse race, there's no comparison. First, before the clock started W. was at one point (right after 9/11) viewed more favorably than any modern President. Second, all through Spring and Summer 2004 the race was close, and who was in the lead flip flopped - just like Kerry on Iraq, I guess. Third, the fact that he surged right after the RNC suggests that a decisive chunk of America was actually open to hearing what the incumbent President had to say. None of that is happening in 2020. And time is running out for President Toxic. Maybe we'll end up thinking of this as the Osama Bin Laden election. A stealthy and capable military came in with guns loaded. They took out a bad guy. It was a team effort. But we'll never quite know who took the kill shot. Poor decent, truthful Donald. Can't a good-hearted fella ever catch a break?

My partner and I were in Hua Hin about a month ago. We went to Guys Bar but it was very quiet, we were the only people there except for the manager and one staff. The manager was very friendly and no doubt would be glad of your custom just don't expect any cute boys

The site function is again fucked up. Or it is Putin. @stevenkesslar his GOTV point cannot be too much emphasized. In the two-week run up to both of Obama’s wins, my house here in N.C. was assuaded with (very welcomed) in-person stop-bys from these carloads of elderly black ladies emphasizing we must vote for BO. By contrast, late in Hillary’s campaign, I got just a 2-minute in-person visit from this campaign person (very beautiful, and beautifully dressed, I think Vietnamese) kid, simply asking, Are you going to vote for Hillary?’

I have heard of it. Two boys who briefly appeared as Moonlight models now “moonlight” there occasionally. Like what Jasper posted above, it seems to be a “handsome men” local club for men and women. There are a number of these clubs around but likely no offing.

I don't disagree. When I Googled it, I got this definition. It works well enough for me. pop·u·lism noun a political approach that strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups. I'd split the difference and say President Toxic's political success has elements of both populism and authoritarianism. And whichever one you call it, the US is hardly unique. It's also probably true that certain historical periods favor these types of movements and governments, since they are reactions to the established order and elites. I wouldn't say Hitler and Mussolini were simply populists. I would say they were classic authoritarians. We could have a debate about where populism stops, and authoritarianism begin. But let's not. Most of the politicians I've been closest to were populists. They based their appeal on being against elites and for ordinary people - "the little guy". They were not authoritarian. The opposite. Populists like Paul Wellstone were all about people power and organizing and empowerment of community leaders. You can argue there are elements of that in what President Toxic did to get elected. But I wouldn't compare the two in a million years. Paul would never say that his power was based on people that would still support him if he took someone out to the barn in Minnesota and shot him. I guess that's the Farmer Labor "prairie populism" equivalent of Trump and 5th Ave. The value in Dean's ideas to me are they explain why some people of both parties or no party were attracted to President Toxic. And will seemingly follow him blindly. 2020 will be a test of this. In 2016 you can explain a lot of it away by saying people were hurting. And it was precisely those people that decided to roll the dice, hoping he would make things better. Since 2016 the economy mostly improved. It didn't help most Republicans in the midterms. But at least President Toxic had that. If he wins in a recession after bungling COVID-19, it suggests that America is in far worse shape than I thought. I don't like to go there in my mind. But what it suggests is that we're moving into Hitler and Mussolini territory. You have a huge group of people who are so captured by an authoritarian figure that they'll follow him blindly, regardless of the consequences. I didn't feel that way in 2016. I will if he wins in 2020. Trump: Americans Who Died in War Are ‘Losers’ and ‘Suckers’ That article is somewhat off topic. I'm posting it because as I was reading it some sentences jumped off the page. Because they were exact matches with what I was reading yesterday about President Toxic's supposed "Social Dominant" leadership style. In addition to the words "suckers" and "losers", these are perfect examples: There's other psychological words you can use to describe this. Like narcissism, or lack of empathy. But the authoritarianism Dean talks about fits in perfectly. Socially dominant types like President Toxic see the world as a dog eat dog place where you either win and dominate, or you are a loser. So if your are a dead soldier, you didn't dominate, and you didn't win. So you're a loser. There's really just no other category. Smart people want to dominate. And that means making lots of lots of money. But, no. You wouldn't go into the military. You certainly wouldn't be willing to sacrifice your life. (Sorry. After I added the quotes it's double spacing everything). This also might explain the mystery about why President Toxic at least used to have a hard-on for generals. I've always thought the logical (or hopeful) explanation is that even a narcissist like Trump knows he needs experts around him, especially on things like national defense. And generals tend to be hawks. Implicit in that is that President Toxic respected these people. But if these statements are true, the explanation that Trump is surrounding himself with very smart and hawkish people he respects doesn't fit all that well. He doesn't respect these people. Because if they were smart, they should be out making fortunes. Not serving their country. Let alone getting killed for their country. So an alternative logical explanation is that President Toxic is a classic authoritarian. He expects obedience. Period. That's probably what he expected from his Generals. They are supposed to be good at following orders. If you buy what the author says, which is easy to believe, like Bob Barr and other Cabinet members they were supposed to be personally loyal to Trump. Not the United States of America. This would explain why President Toxic had a love affair with Generals, and then a falling out. If you buy this, which I do, it really is very scary stuff.

France is spiking in recent days and don't forget Spain. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/world/europe/france-coronavirus-cases.html&ved=2ahUKEwj9g5vo7NDrAhUFeisKHWkeBYoQFjAAegQIBBAB&usg=AOvVaw368YBG5F3u26w25Lm0Rxsa Reading the various forums, I note there are are many posters giving advice to Thailand on how to deal with the virus. Looking at their own country's track record on managing (or lack of) the virus they lack any credibility. Shortly, flu season will arrive in the northern climates and with it predictions of another covid wave. In America, a forecaster the White House uses is predicting 410,000 deaths by Jan 1 with a worst case scenario of over 600k. Think of that, hundreds of thousands of lives needlessly lost because of government mismanagement and selfish people not wearing masks and following well established guidelines. Thailand got it right; and one wonders who is the third world country, Thailand or my home country? Trust science, be patient, vaccines will be here shortly and we'll all be traveling again.

On the danger of Covid, I can't help but feel that it is much less of a menace now when I look at some simple numbers for France (which I did because some friends wanted to travel there, weren't sure but then decided to go): - daily new cases about the same as at the height of the crisis & lockdown in March - active cases actually THREE times as many as then 150k vs 50k) - but (almost) nobody dies from it any more I admit I haven't looked at any other countries, just France for the given reason, but I find that very striking.

The real reason we have an Electoral College: to protect slave states “In a direct election system, the South would have lost every time.” If the goal is to dump the Electoral College, this analysis makes it both easier, and harder, I think. It makes it harder because Republicans are for the Electoral College. For the obvious reason that it delivered them a minority President twice in a century. "Minority" in this case meaning someone who lost the popular vote by hundreds of thousands to millions of votes. It matters to me that the Presidents who got elected this way did particularly harmful and divisive things to the nation, compared to most other Presidents. And that the public ultimately rejected what they did. W. gave us Iraq, The Great Recession, and the loss of 5 million manufacturing jobs on his watch. 2008 was a massive repudiation of his leadership. Those lost manufacturing jobs are a great explanation of the pain and resentment that led to Trumpism. The verdict is out on President Toxic. But nobody feels 2020 is a great year. Then add that this whole racist edifice of the Electoral College is built on enslaving Blacks. Republicans just don't want to hear it. That's been my experience for a very long time. Meanwhile, if this is one of the points in American history where we're going to be open-minded about the legacy of slavery, as well as related issues about democracy and racial equality and income inequality that disproportionately hurts Blacks, this is a perfect time to have the discussion. As a practical matter, I doubt there is any hope of dumping the Electoral College until there is a solid Democratic majority, anyway. Republicans will make the point that there are lots of good things about the Electoral College. It protects minority rights (except for Blacks, of course) and small states. As does the US Senate, by the way. That was by design as well. If the Electoral College were history, the idea that small states have an outsized voice through the US Senate is still built in to the system. The argument that makes the most sense to me is that if we want to call ourselves a democracy, the person who wins by millions of votes should win the Presidency. Period. I think we are living in something like The New Civil War. It is not as deadly as the last one. But there is a lot of violence. And, like in the 19th century, there is a deepening reality of irreconcilable differences. The practical comparison that cuts for me is that in both civil wars there was a group who wanted to hold on tight to things that needed to go ............. and did actually go. In the 19th century, that was slavery. What needs to go now is everything that President Toxic is putting a face on. Biden has now used the word "toxic" to describe Trump. No one supports slavery anymore. But to me "Make America Great Again" has always been a way of putting a nice face on what has always been the toxic part of America. The part that gave us slavery, Jim Crow, and systemic racism. I don't think there is any simple or quick solution to this problem. Every follower of President Toxic is hoping that he gets four more years by winning a few states based on the "cultural anxiety" or racism or whatever you want to call it of a relatively small group of Americans. Who are primarily old, White, and male. If President Toxic loses by millions of votes again, they don't give a shit. And yet they want to argue that they are the true voices of democracy. What bullshit. They just want to hold on to power, and America as they know it. And any means justifies that end. I feel like they are shoving their racism and hate and inability to move forward down my throat. It doesn't matter that I'm in a majority that actually won in 2016. They just want to shove their racism down my throat and say, "This is the America we want. Shut the fuck up and deal with it." If you buy the idea that there is a New Civil War, I don't think I declared it. I don't think Barack Obama declared it. I think they declared it, and found their perfect leader in President Toxic. Although I know for a fact, based on the words coming out of their mouths, that they feel that Obama declared it ............. by being a Black man who, in their view, soiled their beautiful Constitution. You know, all that stuff that men who were 100 % men and 100 % White came up with centuries ago. In part to explicitly support slavery. Even the 100 % White 100 % men who were against slavery knew they had to somehow manage the deep political conflict slavery caused. That's a big part of the reason why we have an Electoral College. That's why they will fight to the death - in some cases, literally, given COVID-19 - for President Toxic and what he stands for. They know the economy is in bad shape. They know he was wrong when he said that the virus would miraculously go away. They know that we're much worse off than just about every other country on the planet. They know 1000 people are dying a day. But in the bigger picture, they also know that he is fighting for the America they believe in. I'll post it again here. This is their America: Freeze frame a few of the images. The face of the criminal mob is a dark-skinned Muslim woman. Can you believe, these criminal mob people actually got her elected to the US House? What the fuck happened to America? The face of order and jobs is 100 % White 100 % men, in the image where you see the word "jobs". That's just a coincidence, right? It doesn't mean anything, right? My read is this is why Never Trump Republicans like Stewart Stevens and Rick Wilson bailed on the conservative party they helped build. That tweet is not the America they planned on. Or the America they want. Part of the reason I think this is a New Civil War is guys like that, hardly radicals, are saying it's worth burning their ex-party down to the ground for. That's pretty strong stuff. I'm not 100 % sure I buy Nate Silver's analysis. He's good at projecting past trends into the future. But trends change. Lichtman has been more accurate, I think, because he focuses on historical forces that are far more stable - like the economy. As opposed to poll numbers or even election results from any particular election. This is a great article from Ron Brownstein that goes to the heart of this. He's one of my favorite journalists. He's a data whore, like me. And he is better than most at using data in the service of trying to figure out what's really going on below the surface. He wrote this a few days before the election in 2016. For anyone who says the polls were wrong, and no one saw it coming, read this. He even specifically names Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania as the "loosest bricks in the blue wall." His key point relative to this discussion is that Team Hillary was "betting that the surest path to victory is to fight mostly on terrain that Clinton can win without". Oops! It must have been in some other article he wrote before the election, but there was a poignant image I recall him using of how he thought Hillary could lose. The idea was that she could be crushed in a very narrow passage between the future of the Democratic Party, and its past. That's exactly what I think happened. Arizona and Georgia and even swing state Florida were a bridge too far. Meanwhile, those bricks in the Rust Belt were just loose enough to bring The Blue Wall down. Lichtman would argue that Republicans were poised to win in 2016, anyway, based on the fundamentals. So I tend to view it as a victory that President Toxic almost fucked up. Not that he's some political genius. Part of the reason I think President Toxic almost fucked 2016 up for Republicans is that there have not been many Republican victories since. Larry Sabato helpfully lists close House races that have incumbents who are the opposite party of who won the Presidential vote in 2016. So there are 6 close races with Republican incumbents in districts that voted for Hillary in 2016. There are 30 close races with Democratic incumbents in districts that voted for President Toxic in 2016. Most were new pick ups in 2018, like Lucy McBath in suburban Atlanta and Lauren Underwood in suburban Chicago. The graceful way to remember Hillary is how we remember MLK. He pointed us to the mountaintop, even though he never got there himself. Hillary pointed us to the future Democratic Party she will never lead. Some of which actually arrived in 2018. It is possible that 2020 will be the opposite of 2016, where pretty much every close call broke wrong for Democrats. Sinema won Arizona in 2018, and Biden and Kelly are way ahead in the polls in 2020. Meanwhile, moderate pundits like Morning Joe are saying that right now Pennsylvania looks like the wobbliest of the three loose bricks in the old Blue Wall Biden is trying to rebuild. I suspect there is a tug of war between Black Lives Matter types and those older factory workers, or ex-factory workers, who just don't like what the Democrats are saying. It's possible that Biden could lose Pennsylvania and win Arizona and Florida, and be President. Or, it's looking quite possible that "Scranton Joe" could patch up the Blue Wall, at least with him on the ticket in 2020, and be the one that anchors Arizona and North Carolina and maybe Georgia into the new Democratic majority. When Jeff Flake came out for Biden, he said if Republicans do nothing Democrats are poised to win Texas by 2024. Flake is not a flake. Something very similar to this happened in 2016 and 2018. In 2016 Republicans got 49.1 % of the House vote, and Democrats got 48.0 %. Yet Republicans got 241 seats to the Democrats' 191 seats. There was a logical argument that Democrats would need to have a 3 or 4 or even 5 % margin of victory just to get a one vote House majority. In 2018, Democrats won 53.4 % of all House votes cast. They ended up with 235 seats, which is 54.0 % of the total. Part of the reason why is that Republicans used gerrymandering to create "safe" Republicans seats in suburbs that were not viewed as Democratic prospects around 2010. But because they were suburban, they were not as safe as conservative rural areas where Republicans usually win in landslides. So the same thing that happened with the House in 2018 could happen on the Senate side. Arizona and Georgia, once fairly safe Republican strongholds, could tip. Discussions about the Electoral College will be even more divisive than where we are at now. They won't go anywhere anytime soon. Not until there is a solid Democratic majority. Which will be accused of being ................wait for it .......................................un-democratic. So I think we all need to ask our conscience this question. Is it un-democratic to say Hillary should be President because she actually won by millions of votes? Who is being un-democratic now? There's another thing Republicans need to forced to own up to, I think. I'm very used to the dogma that says that I don't own slaves, my parents didn't own slaves, and my grandparents didn't own slaves. So what the fuck does all this slavery bullshit have to do with me? Get over it. If some Black guy got shot in the back, it's because he's a thug. They sexually assault women and deal drugs. What did they expect? This has nothing to do with slavery. The argument usually goes something like that. Black conservative ex-cops support this analysis. If we want to get rid of the Electoral College, my own view is that we'll have to force Republicans to face facts. It exists because lots of White men wanted to own lots of Black men and women. If Black men and women didn't agree, they were brutally tortured and murdered. So, sorry. Republicans can't divorce the Electoral College from the fact that the whole idea was to own, torture, and brutally murder Blacks. That is what the Electoral College is. That is what the Electoral College actually did for a big chunk of US history. It's easier to argue that Blacks like Jacob Blake are just today's Willie Horton ............. a thug. But it's harder to sell the argument that these Black thugs and Muslim radicals are actually electing Marxists and radicals like Rep. Omar and soon-to-be Rep. Cori Bush to the US House. Who's being un-democratic now? I don't think it's a coincidence that all this is happening when the Electoral College, not the popular vote, was kind enough to hand us a racist and hateful man like President Toxic. The Electoral College is still doing what it is there for. It may not be slavery. But I believe it's still dishing out the vicious torture and murder of Blacks. It's still undermining democracy with a small "d". In conversations with Republicans, I have tried to take another approach. I'd actually quote the statements of the Founding Fathers, like from the article above. Some of them did clearly state that they put the Electoral College in place to support slavery. In theory, conservative Constitutionalists who think Obama pissed all over the Constitution should at least be willing to listen to the words written by The Founding Fathers. But they won't. It may be hypocrisy. But the easiest way to think of it, for me, is that any means justifies their end. They want to hold on to power, and their America. So arguing about what The Founding Fathers said or meant is useless. I think what we need to focus on is the hate and lies and racism their leader is spouting today. Including the defense of torturing and killing Black men like Jacob Blake and George Floyd. You can of course argue these men were no saints. But neither was the White vigilante who took out peaceful protesters. President Toxic says the White kid "probably would have been killed" if he didn't defend himself. After all, as Morning Joe pointed out, some of those protesters were armed with skateboards. Again, I think they'll use any means necessary to justify their end. Including White vigilantes who love weapons of war and are good with killing people who believe in their right to protest. If the MAGA conservatives are good with vigilantes using assault rifles to kill protesters, I very much doubt they will be open to compromise on the Electoral College. Any more than the South was open to compromise on slavery. That's not quite true, because the Electoral College actually was THE compromise on slavery. But what I mean is that it did allow The South to hold on to power, and their slaves. Just like today it's helping MAGA conservatives hold on to power, President Toxic, and an America where systemic racism is alive and well. We are just going to have to take power. And to win this debate, after we take power, we are going to have to be very clear about what The Electoral College was built for. And what it has actually done through US history. We'll especially have to be clear about the election of President Toxic, and the racism and hate and division he has promoted and thrived on. I was going to post this YouTube video on another thread. But I think I'll post it here as an afterthought. If only to avoid starting yet another long-winded post. I stumbled on that yesterday when I was wandering around YouTube. It's about 6 1/2 hours of live election coverage from 1980. I scanned through maybe 30 minutes of it. Partly it was fun to see what the computers and clothes looked like back then. And to see a young Chris Wallace (covering Reagan) and a young Judy Woodruff (covering Carter). I was going to post this on the prediction thread. The interesting point is that people didn't know history was happening, even in the moment it was happening. Pat Caddell, Carter's pollster, always thought it was the last minute turn in hostage negotiations. Even Reagan, in his victory speech, said he thought it would be a "cliffhanger". George H.W. Bush said he was surprised, because he thought it would be close. In the last minutes before sign off, Garrick Utley announced that the Republicans won surprise Senate victories in New York and Florida. No one saw that coming. The Democrats had a 9 seat Senate majority before the election. The Republicans had a 3 seat majority after. At one point, David Brinkley said this wasn't a complete surprise, because Reagan had a huge lead in the polls after the convention that year. But while many of the polls showed Reagan leading, none called the margin. And there was none of the "wisdom" around why things were shaping up that way. It's quaint that someone as smart as Brinkley would use the words "wisdom" and "polls" in the same sentence. The only person I heard that had a sense of the historical bigger picture was - this ain't a shocker - historian Teddy White. (At about 42:00 in the video.) He was interviewed early in the coverage, before any of the Senate surprises were called. So he said it's a bit too early to say. But some elections are the end of an era, when a big historical wave comes in. Most elections are just ripples. He cited 1932, and 1964. And maybe 1980. He of course turned out to be right. 1980 was the end of an era, and the beginning of the Reagan Revolution. Lichtman is a sort of Teddy White. His critics might say he is Teddy White revisited as a snake oil salesman. He is not calling for revolutionary change in 2020. He's saying the election will be close. And that while President Toxic should lose, voter suppression and Russian interference could change the outcome. I was going to post this in the Lichtman thread. But it fits here, I think. If we're going to dump the Electoral College, it would take something like the Reagan Revolution. And I don't mean one dramatic election, necessarily. From the vantage point of history, we know that what happened in 1980 foreshadowed what happened in 1984. The even bigger landslide in 1984 confirmed that the Minnesota liberalism of Humphrey and Mondale was, in fact, history. That's still playing out. If President Toxic does win Minnesota, it will be because of those blue collar Iron Rangers who once voted for Paul Wellstone, but now vote for President Toxic. What the polls seem to be saying today is the opposite. If Biden wins Wisconsin, it presumably will be because people simply rejected President Toxic's fear and racism and hate. Not because they are for looting, fires, and radicalism. And, of course, because they care about the economy, stupid. And the soon to be 200,000 dead. All I feel I can do is send money to people running for Senate in places like Arizona and Georgia and North Carolina. If they win, history may show that it was one big nail in the coffin of the Electoral College. And in the toxic and racist parts of American history is was designed to support. And has in fact supported up to and including today.

I definitely understand your point regarding numbers. People in Thailand can't all afford cars. Most deaths are motorcycle related. I personally know many young people who have died on those 2 wheel machines. They will not give them up as they can't afford it. The people want them. How many of the posters on this site have bought a motorcycle for a boy? I bet more than a few. How many would buy a car for them? I also bet that number would be much less. The people also seem to want to keep Covid under control. They were protests when a few diplomats got into the country. People here are scared and rightly so. The mass doesn't care as much about the economy and tourism as you think they do. They seem to be more concerned with keeping the country safe. The people want it. I have said this before. I feel safe here. (for now) I hope they don't relax Covid controls until a vaccine is found and given to all.

Congratulations! You got my point. I know there was a ton of content I posted about Independents in the YouGov poll. But what they found is entirely consistent with this poll you cite. For a lot of Independents, this is a "hold your nose" election. A minority view President Toxic favorably, and a minority view Biden favorably. Add Pence and Harris and you get the same thing. So I suspect that adds up into a majority of Independents who view either President Toxic or Biden favorably. But there's also some who don't like either. And while it's not clear from the poll, that probably correlates with the 20 % or so who say they care little or not at all about who wins. Probably because they don't like either of them. We have been here before, and done this before. In 2016 the people who didn't respect or trust either candidate swung heavily to Trump. And it was probably at the last minute, because their thinking is fluid. Which would explain why Trump did better than the polls suggested. There's almost always a late break to one or the other candidate. In 2016 it broke to President Toxic. Karl Rove said on Election Night 2016 that this is why President Toxic won. People who didn't like either candidate voted for change. In 2016 that was Trump. That 6 minute analysis sums up most of the important lessons of 2016. But particularly the last few minutes is where Rove talks about how President Toxic won the "hold your nose and pick one smelly turd" vote. South Park satirized it as the choice between a Giant Douche and a Turd Sandwich. My guess in 2020 is this is bad news for President Toxic. The same people who didn't like what they saw, held their nose, and voted for change may do so again. Of course, President Toxic could portray himself in 2016 in a way Biden can't. He was the outsider who'd go in and flip the table and drain the swamp. Biden is Mr. Establishment and, if Trump has his way, the poster child Swamp Thing. Those polls suggest that Independents are already leaning toward the idea that President Toxic isn't making things better. And, if re-elected, he will probably just make things worse. If I'm right, and they hold their nose for Biden/Harris, it won't be out of love and deep respect. I do think Biden (like Reagan) is playing to hope. I do think President Toxic is playing to fear. My biggest criticism of Hillary in 2016 is she played the fear card too much. She assumed that people would be so afraid of Trump that he couldn't win. Trippi confirms that in the 2016 piece above. Fear did not work in 2016, if you view it that way. I don't think President Toxic will convince voters that Joe Biden is the end of civilization as we know it. This article below only tangents on your point. But I think the author absolutely nailed it. I'm putting it here because I think this applies in particular to Independents who don't believe the worst things people say about either President Toxic or Destroyer Joe. The Democrats’ Next Challenge: Hit Trump Where He’s Strong It's the economy, stupid. The polls show that if there's an area where Biden needs to close the deal, it's the economy, stupid. I agree with Shafer. If Biden and his team can't figure out how to sell that, Biden doesn't deserve to be President. There's another point Shafer made that did help me to understand something. I've said in this thread that it amazes me that only 30 % of Americans see President Toxic as a good person. About half of America sees Joe Biden as a good person. I don't remember the exact number, but I think about 1 in 3 Republicans say President Toxic is not a good person. So how does that work? How do you elect someone you see as a bad person to be POTUS? Shafer's point is that Biden can't turn this around, and should not bother trying. He can say, like Hillary tried to in 2016, that this guy is a bad person who doesn't deserve to win. But he did win. And he won despite the fact that many Republicans don't think he's a good person. And Joe Biden, like Hillary Clinton, is not the one to make the case. Here's what Shafer said: There could be a debate zinger in that. Biden could just read the poll data that 1 in 3 Republicans think Trump is not a good person. So it turns out that I have a lot of things in common with Republicans, after all. Mostly, he should keep asking people if they are better off and feel safer than they did when President Toxic came to power.

The Assembly line of fucks I got another opportunity to check out Espaco Lagoa before heading to southern Brazil with the BF. It was a somewhat chilly day in Sao Paulo, but I was lucky to have skipped the cold temps that visited the city days before. Still, it was still cool weather, so I decided to visit the Frei Caneca shopping mall to have a cup of coffee. The good thing about the Frei Caneca shopping mall is that it is pretty close to Espaco Lagoa. There is probably a reason for the closeness. The walk from the mall to the sauna, you will encounter the unofficial gay street of Rua Frei Caneca, the gay hotel, and other gay locations. So its always an interesting time to see the patrons of this mall. You will see various gay people loitering, checking each other out. No surprise that when I open Grindr, it lit up like a Christmas tree with hits. I settled with my cup of coffee, subtly checking out a guy across from me, who I saw on Grindr (51 feet away!) while enjoying my cup of coffee: After my coffee, I let @floridarob know that I was going to the sauna. It was almost 6 PM, so I would think it was prime time to wrap it up and head to Lagoa. At the sauna, I see @floridarob already seated and enjoying his drinks. I get another cup of coffee, and I remarked that this was the 3rd continent that I’ve seen him in. After some gossip, and acknowledging what big world-traveling sluts we both were, I start my hunt in earnest. It was pretty busy in the main bar area. The public showers were opened up and all the tables were occupied. It was Sunday, karaoke night, so it was hard to have a decent conversation from all the loud singing, unless if you were up close and personal with the person you were talking to. So I had to leave the area if I was going to catch anything I wanted. At first, I was not finding anything, or I was hesitant in approaching with all the activity in the bar. Programa #1: The Wily Veteran But in the corner of my eye, by the entrance near the stage, was an interesting blonde and blue eyed guy, as white as can be, that stood out from everyone. No one was in towels (COVID), but he went one better: he was wearing a nice shirt and pants. I quickly excuse myself and chase after the guy. I go to the hallway to assess his hotness. Paulistano. 26 years old. He took off his mask while he was talking, which helped because it sealed the deal. He looked more German than Brazilian, but his Paulista accent gave him away. We get a suite (always) and got to our room. Wow, this place is so clean and more put together than Point 202. It is not hard to do. And they had towels and flip flops carefully packed in plastic for use. So hygienic. He quickly disrobes and plops himself on the bed. I join him clothed, and he quickly disrobes me. With me naked, he tells me “much better,” and gives me a kiss. That was when I realized that I forgot to ask him the requisite questions: does he kiss? Top or bottom? How much? That never happens to me, I usually do my due diligence before commiting, but no time like the present to ask. I know he does kiss, he says he is versatile, and the usual 150 for the programa, or 200 with cum. He delivered in all respects. Fairly passionate, and had an amazing ass. I had him pose for me, squatting with his ass in the air. Perfect. I’m not a super top, but this guy did it for me in the moment. The pale, smooth skin helped, and it came with a smooth ass. He sat on me, and I came really quickly. It took a while for him to cum tho, as he said it was hard to cum after getting fucked. Afterwards we talked for a bit. He has been doing sauna work for a while, and even did a stint in European saunas. Took a break and was back in the business. Saving up money for a trip back to Europe, when it opens up, and beefing up in the process for more exacting European clientele. He certainly knows what he’s got. No doubt he earns a lot of money. I don’t know how long I was away, but going back to @floridarob, it seemed like an eternity. He told me I act fast, just disappearing and doing the programa. “I know what I like and I go for it,” I say. I get a cocktail. I think I was seated in the perfect spot in the bar area at Espaco Lagoa. We were seated close to the door, and my seat was angled such that I was facing the door and can see who came and went, while having a view of the stage. Understandably I would miss some of the public shower guys who would entice customers with their third legs, but until I grow a third eye in the back of my head, I’d choose to be facing where the guys came and went. Programa #2: The Casual Passers-by The current location of Espaco Lagoa is both a blessing and a curse. It is so much more central, located in the Frei Caneca, and close enough to Paulista and Bela Vista. The bad thing about it is, any casual guy can just stop by and try to sell their wares. In the old location, it was more or less more residential, and you actually had to want to be there in order to be at the sauna, and not just casually drop by on the way somewhere else. So I find that there are more casual GPs than the usual, career quality GPs, in this location, that in the old location. I noticed a fresh batch of guys come in, milling about. They were just in the periphery and not going in the main area. They were fully dressed, like everyone, but not smartly as to accentuate any of their body parts, like the career GPs. They probably just wandered off from the street over to see if they can score a few reais. Two of them were nice looking. The shorter one was more muscular, was looking more like a brute, and his biceps were bulging out of his shirt. The taller one was tall indeed, more lanky, but had a very pretty face. I’ve never seen them before. Probably their first time here. After trading more gossip with @floridarob, I see the shorter one making eyes with me. I made eyes back. He took off his mask and smiled at me. I looked at his friend and his friend was being felt up by another customer. A few more minutes roll by, and the guy kept making eyes, but would never approach or even enter the bar area. After finishing my drink, I make a decision, and tell @floridarob I will be back. I lock eyes on the shorter one, and we congregate in the hall. I motion to the taller one to also come so I can inspect both. After introductions, the shorter one was trying to sell himself, with descriptions of what we would do together and such. The taller one was way more shy, just standing there. He was gorgeous tho, brown hair and green eyes. Such a killer combo. I ask them if they were friends and went here together. They both said yes. I asked them how much. 150 for each. I ask them what they did. Only tops but passionate. I can work with that. I told them I want to get a room. The shorter one asks: “which one?” I tell them, both of you, of course. The taller one smiles, as if to say: “really?” Is that OK? The shorter one says, “of course!” So we get a suite and the two tail me as I lock the door behind me. We started with just standing there. Obviously this was a bit manufactured, nothing organic about it. I started to break the ice by asking a few questions. They’ve been friends for a long time. It was the taller guy’s first time here, and didn’t really know what to do here. It was the shorter one’s second time, and I was his second customer as well. The taller one was nervous, maybe unsure he wanted to do it. I ask if they have seen each other naked before. “Not totally,” the shorter one answers. I laugh. Everyone laughs. “So what will we do now?” I ask. The shorter one takes command, and asks the taller one to undress. He takes off his shirt. The shorter one unbuttons the taller one’s pants. His briefs appear through his opened zipper. I take it further by pulling down his pants. He is just in his underwear. The shorter one disrobes to his briefs as well. I do as well. And then the shorter instructs the other to start kissing me. After some hesitation, he does. I take a hand to his groin. Big boy. He make it grow. We were off to the races. The shorter one turned to be fairly dominant, and the taller one passionate. It worked out, somehow weirdly. Both came on my chest, while towering over me on the bed. It was somewhat an awkward encounter. It’s kind of what you expect from just casual passers-by I guess. Programa #3: The Reason Why I’m Here Getting back to @floridarob, I realized that I’ve already came with three different people in a span of 1.5 hours, and floridarob was just getting started. I guess my speed is really fast. We both notice a nice looking moreno in the public shower, and he had the perfect pair of (1) giant cock and (2) nice round ass. @floridarobnoticed him too and commented on him being nice looking. When the toweled off and got out of the shower, I quickly motion to him to sit down with us so at least @floridarob had some company. All three of us soon got to laughing and joking, mostly about how much of a slut I was. Fair enough. I see someone in the corner of my eye again. Uh oh. He was a beautiful moreno. Nice facial hair. Prerry face. Wearing a tight t-shirt and tight jeans. He filled those nicely. There was something about him that just draws one to him. Something magnetic. Of course I acted fast, as I do. I bid both goodbye for now and headed for him. When we were in the hallway, he takes of his mask and smiles this million watt smile. He introduces himself. A Carioca, of course. I journey all this way to Sao Paulo to be hooked by another Carioca. He talks to me in a whisper, and he draws me close so he can hear me. I press my hands on his shoulders, and his back. Big broad shoulders, hard sinewy back. We settle on 150, or 200 if he cums. I couldn’t say no. I was impressed by how he carried himself. In the room we both sit on the bed and he takes my hand and caresses it. We talk for a minute. His deep voice was soothing. He takes off his clothes, even underwear. He wanted me to see. Big thighs, big plump ass, and of course, hung like no other. He kisses me deeply. And soon I was naked myself. Damn, this was a good start. After some hot foreplay he asks me what I liked. I said since he was just a top, that I couldn’t take his length and girth, since he was pretty big. He said fine, and we did more foreplay. After getting hot and heavy and him rimming me, he takes the condom and lube and started to sheath himself. I laughed. I reminded him that I didn’t want to take him. He said he understood, but he was just going to “show me something.” Fine. What could happen, right? We did more foreplay. He got me really warmed up. And then he started to put it in. Slow. While working on me. Got me relaxed. Put it in more. More working on me. I got even more relaxed. Until he was all in. Until he was able to get a rhythm in. Until he pulled out and fed me his cock to explode in my mouth. Well that was amazing and unexpected, and simply mesmerizing. When you hire someone, they will do what you tell them to do, since you are paying and you callall the shots. It’s something else when you pay someone to do what you want, but they know what you actually want more than you did. I am rarely surprised anymore in these situations, sadly, but this programa was indeed a surprise. We shower together. We get dressed. Before we left, I tell him that he had something unique, something that was hard to come by in the sauna, and he had something that just can’t be replicated anywhere. He smiles that million watt smile again, and told me he has heard this from others before. I give him my phone, to get his Whatsapp. I’ve met 4 guys in the sauna today, and this was the first guy I wanted to get a second meeting. I emerge from the programa. I tell @floridarobI had to run, as the BF was awake and waiting for me. Not bad for a 3 hour stay in Espaco Lagoa.

Seems like world remit is a cheaper option to send money to boy who dont have bank acc. Otherwise, transferwise is cheaper.

Wasn't really aware of World Remit. Seems like it works similar to Western Union. Out of interest, I compared their fees and rates for sending an amount of EUR 100 (actually the quoted fee is the same for eur 1000, so %age-wise becomes less the more you send): WR: fee EUR 0.99, fx rate 35.435 WU: fee EUR 3.90, fx rate 34.899 XE.com rate at the time of this comparison: 36.50 So the hidden fx fee for WR is 3%, for WU it is 4.6% confirming it's image as being expensive. Good to know for future reference, thanks @daydreamer

I have been using World Remit to send money to a friend in Bangkok since the pandemic has put so many people out of work. I like World Remit, as it allows you to send a cash pick up at a bank, no bank account required. It also allows you the choice of several different banks to pick up the money. My friend said he had a slight problem with a teller at one bank, so the next time I sent him money, I just chose a different bank. And the money is available at any branch of each bank. The boy only needs to show his ID and the transaction number which they will send by SMS to his phone, or you can email him the transaction number. Very easy, and I think I paid $3.99 to transfer the funds, and he pays no fee on his end. The exchange rate is fair, and they send you an email telling you exactly how much is available for pick up. The money is usually available within 20 minutes of the time it is sent.

From the BBC The greatest summer novels ever written It’s a season when normal rules are suspended and the temperature rises in more ways than one. So it’s no surprise that it inspires heady literature, writes Neil Armstrong. Novelist Meg Rosoff has an indelible memory from a summer in the early 1970s. She was 16 and on holiday with her family on Martha’s Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts. She had met a boy who was also spending summer on the island, and she was mad about him. “He would just show up and then we would go off at night to these completely deserted beaches,” recalls Rosoff. “It was the most romantic thing in the entire world. I remember us swimming late one night and then lying on our backs on the sand afterwards looking up at the sky which was suddenly full of shooting stars. It was the Perseid meteor shower, which happens every year, though I didn’t know it then. It just seemed like our personal miracle.” Elements of the experience found their way into her new book, The Great Godden, a coming-of-age love story which spans a summer holiday in England, and is being marketed as a “summer novel”. There might not be a special section for the classic summer novel in bookshops but there should be because, although its precise lineaments are slightly hazy, like something seen in the distance on a dog day in August, it’s definitely identifiable as a distinct genre, characterised by particular tropes. For a book to be a classic summer novel, key plot points must occur during that season. If it’s a long, hot summer – the sort of summer no-one thought would ever end, the sort of summer during which time seems to stand still – so much the better. Because that’s the sort of summer during which the usual rules are suspended. People do things they wouldn’t normally do. All bets are off. Ideally, there will be a love story – maybe young love, maybe unrequited – and possibly a sexual awakening. There is often a loss of innocence. There should be a feeling of transition; one part of life’s journey is coming to an end. Nothing will ever be the same again. Often there is a sense of unreality, “the feeling of being in a dream” as Rumer Godden said of the real-life experience that inspired her classic of the genre, The Greengage Summer. And sometimes the story is told in the form of a recollection. The narrator is looking back with a twinge of wistfulness on the events of a summer long ago, the effects of which might still be rippling out. “I think the main appeal for this kind of novel lies in its ability to play into readers’ nostalgia,” says Waterstones fiction buyer, Bea Carvalho. “Most readers can relate to a long, lonely school break, a family holiday, or a summer romance.” A summer novel doesn’t necessarily need all of these factors but it does need some. Examples might include LP Hartley’s The Go-Between, Alan Garner’s The Owl Service, or JL Carr’s A Month in the Country. “A classic example that springs to mind is André Aciman’s Call Me By Your Name which displays all of the tropes: the beautiful summer setting, the sexual awakening, the brilliant sense of nostalgia,” says Carvalho. Ian McEwan’s Atonement – heavily influenced by The Go-Between – sneaks in because of its first part, set on an oppressively sultry day in the middle of a heatwave. Five all-time summer classics The Go-Between by LP Hartley In this mid-century British classic, the narrator remembers the hot, golden childhood summer, spent at his schoolmate’s family estate, when he helped facilitate an illicit romance. The Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden Two teenaged sisters of an English family holidaying in France fall in with a charming Englishman who is especially interested in the older of the pair. The Owl Service by Alan Garner An ancient myth threatens to repeat itself as cultures clash and adolescent tensions reach boiling point in a secluded Welsh valley. The Magus by John Fowles An arrogant English teacher working on a Greek island is caught up in an elaborate, theatrical game – or is it a psychological experiment? Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead “There was summer, and then there was the rest of the time.” It’s 1985, and awkward, 15-year-old Benji is on vacation in the Hamptons, and intent on reinventing himself. Continues with photos https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20200717-what-makes-a-great-summer-novel

Trump will find a way to stop aircraft unless they lock him in a looney bin first. I think you are wise visiting both cities, Rio and Sao Paulo. I know both cities well. You can find a lot of travel information about each of those cities on this forum that should make your trip easier. If you have any question that is not already posted and answered, let me know. You chose United Airlines. I use them often. They are reliable and mostly on time. The airport in Texas (Houston) where you will connect from your domestic flight to the Brazil flight is huge. Allow at least fifteen minutes to get to various gates unless you are a runner. The airport is enormous and has many terminals. After you arrive in Brazil and when you decide to travel from either Rio or Sao Paulo to the other city, you can take a "domestic" flight. That means you leave from the downtown airports of either city rather than the far out international airports. This saves you money and time. The domestic airports are down town. Uber or taxis are cheaper than if you landed at the international airports. Alternatively, there is a very nice bus service that goes between Rio and SP that takes usually about five hours, considering the traffic. The bus is cheap and has excellent comfortable seats. The seats are huge and can be adjusted down flat in case you care to sleep. The bus is like business class on an airplane if you want an idea of what you get is you take a bus. There is a restroom on the bus. Taking a bus might seem like a lot of time however, if you factor in the time needed to arrive at the airports the bus is not that much more time. It is certainly an unusual experience that allows you to see a bit of Brazil between the two cities. About half way between the two cities, the bus stops at a very nice roadway restaurant so that passengers can get a meal, if wanted. Or, passengers can stay on the bus and sleep. Only about 45 minutes is allowed for the restaurant stop. That is it for now. Have fun in Brazil.