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I watched this on Netflix and really enjoyed it. It was produced by Lee Daniels and Idris Elba (who also starred). I enjoyed the story but it has not gotten great reviews. It is truly worth the watch though.

Yeah, I also prefer to grind fresh beans and use a traditional espresso machine.

I used a keurig for a while, but the expense and waste added up, so I went back to just making pots of coffee. I think part of it for me was there are lots of fun drinks you can make with the keurig and the zillion kinds of pods you can get, but as I've been working on my health (and cutting back empty calories), I've come to appreciate simple black coffee.

+1 Discovering new beans as I travel is a favorite pastime, and I've culled quite a collection over the years. I realize that Nespresso is popular, but so is Jake Paul. And until he does porn, I won't be watching him. When I consider the materials used to create the packaging of Nespresso products, I think of extreme waste product. I'm not a serious tree hugger, but I think Nespresso is not great for the planet.

They have been marketing very aggressively here in the USA. Magazines, billboards, you name it. I am a little "old school" - I prefer to grind my own beans and make it fresh at home, but they sure seem popular. Have to admit that I really enjoy the smell of freshly made coffee - it just fills up the house - you don't quite get that from these machines. Don't you think? I first came across Nespresso while traveling in Europe where they also have stores in malls so you can pick up pods. The one thing I would point out is that they have not made much inroads into the corporate marketplace. I haven't seen them in any office buildings where I have been for visits or work meetings. In that regard Keurig still seems to be king.

I come from a part of the United Kingdom where the 1967 law decriminalising homosexuality in England did not apply. So that law continued in force. Partly as a result, very few people were prepared to be known as gay. I remember my parents talking in hushed disapproving tones about a middle-aged man who worked in the local pharmacy. "He attends THAT club", I recall them saying, only realising some years later that it was the one place where gays could meet. Membership only! There was also only one shop down a back street that sold 'risky' photo books (only of women) and where guys would surreptitiously try not to be noticed when they came in for a box of condoms. Even at University there was virtually no gay culture. My first crush was with a late teen who stayed in one of the Halls of Residence. We got to know each other, started doing lots of activities together, even hiking at week-ends. But I was too scared of two things - rejection and being known as gay by someone who might not be gay. The gaydar signals that people threw off then were much less obvious. Eventually after many months, we realised our mutual attraction and started a short affair. It was wonderful! I knew nothing about STDs in those days. We just did not talk about them. Having taken a holiday in New York in 1978, I thought I was in heaven. On the day I arrived, a friend took me to the Gaiety Burlesque off Times Square. I was gob-smacked. Absolutely loved it and returned a few times. On my next trip a couple of years later, I discovered one of the large bathhouses (the Everard perhaps?). By this time I had had a trip to Amsterdam and became fixated on the sauna scene. All I now remember were the Day and Night saunas. It was at the Night sauna that I met my first Asian, a young guy from Indonesia. And wow, could he perform! I virtually became hooked on Asians ever since. In Paris I discovered a huge sauna near the old opera house at the Palais Garnier. I think it was called Le Continental. Almost a third of the many customers seemed to be Vietnamese. As in Amsterdam I fell for one and we had an amazing two nights together in my hotel. Working in London, I preferred the El Sombrero club on Kensington High Street in favour of bar hopping. Sombrero for a time was the place to be. I loved it because many of the clientele were Asian. As another poster has pointed out, condoms were rarely in evidence then. Soon I was to move to Hong Kong, little realising that it, too, had anti-gay laws on the statute books (they were only eliminated in 1990). My job meant annual visits to Head Office in New York. Since it was now the early 1980s, it was on one that I became aware of the new disease known initially as GRID. Soon this changed to AiDS with a death sentence attached. My European/American sauna going immediately ceased. Like many at that time, I was petrified that I might have become infected. For months I became monk-like, afraid both for myself and any partner I might unknowingly pass it on to. But I suppose the temptations of Asia were too great and I eventually came out of my shell of fear. The gogo-bars in Bangkok where the boys were often nude, the huge 690 Retiro Strip in Manila where the boys on the zig-zag catwalk were equally nude, two nights spent with one fantastic Chinese I met at Blue Boy Bar in Kuala Lumpur, the ease of picking up gorgeous guys on the street or in the malls of Singapore - I felt I was in seventh heaven. Then by the mid-80s, AIDS was becoming a much more serious threat to Asia. There was even talk that the bar owners in Thailand would ban customers from Hong Kong. But it never was put into effect. Not long after, Bangkok started what was to become a thriving sauna and massage scene. Given the law in Hong Kong, I was bit more cautious. Since at least the '70s there had been two gay bars - Dateline on the Island and Waltzing Mathilda on Kowloon. But it was known the cops kept a close eye on them. One of the barmen in Wally Matt was even a police informant. So I stayed away. Cruising, though, was not that difficult. I met my first Chinese boy when leaning on a railing looking at Hong Kong's fantastic harbour. He was about 30 meters away. Soon he was inching closer to me and I to him. We started chatting and our mutual interest was obvious. But not knowing him at all, I decided first to invite him to dinner a few days later. Believing I then knew him much better, he came home. My first conquest! It was to be the first of many. But we are now well out of the 1970s and so I will end there.

I put this in the beer bar as I find I use this company wherever I am. In the USA, Africa, Asia.. I love the ease of delivery and getting the different flavors. I have given the machines to every family member and they also love them. In Thailand, they do have stores in the major malls and they are easy to walk in an get. But, I order more from the store than anywhere. Others use this? https://www.nespresso.com/th/en/home

Well, good to hear that it isn't a complete failure. I worried upon hearing this that with the weakness in the chinese vaccine that this might just lead to yet another spike in cases and deaths. I will likely travel again this year, and I'd like to go back, but with the current state of the healthcare system in Brazil, it seems unwise to me. I am old enough to not think I'm immortal and want to be able to avail myself of a functioning healthcare system if needed.

The trailer looks great! Is the movie as good? I'll give it a watch. Thanks TotallyOz.

On my last trip, I went to Route66 and loved it. I liked the atmosphere and the food. I had the breakfast but friends say the steaks and burgers are excellent. I think this is on what they call the dark side. But, driving a car, it is an easy to get to location. Worth a try when you are in Pattaya and have a yearning for some American food. Route 66 Pattaya | 36/8 Siam Country Club Road, Soi Pornprapanimit 30, Pattaya City, Bang Lamung District, Chon Buri 20150 https://www.route66pattaya.com/

I hope in a few months most everyone will be vaccinated. So you won't need to ask. But the supply issues with the J&J vaccine may delay that day.

Hah ... “V” is taken: vampire blood. I have dibs on Eric Northman’s.