TampaYankee

Just how far can the US $ fall? It is nearing 1.5 $ US = 1 EU. I know this is good for Boeing as Airbus is busting a gut competing in the commercial aircraft market. On the other hand OPEC seems to be growing grumpy about having to warehouse so much worthless paper in their banks. Banks are supposed to hold valuables. It seems some OPEC ministers prefer to measure the cost of oil against a basket of currencies with some value including the EU, YEN and the Peso. Seriously, how far can this go before it has serious repercussion on Mainstreet? INquiring minds want to know.

No more so than any other entity soliciting email addresses online without apparent reason I suspect.

lol...me thinks the Rockwells out of place in your abode any time of the year.

Townie is our unofficial correspondent for all things Party. He keeps his eye on the ball -- so to speak --whether a Grand Gala or floating by in pairs at a Grand Gala. A Towne Crier to those of us in the boonies. Hence is name.

Deja vu all over again? Didn't this happen previously? Same central character, same schtick? A year or two ago?

Thanks for the good news. I'll have to take your word for it as I won't surrender my email address to the NYT as trubute to enter their online halls.

Wow! Does that take me back years. I guess it faded with Al Capp.

Notes from a Native... albeit long expatriated. Today, I'm going to tell you about Tampa â€â€œ or as I call it, Tampa Gay â€â€œ a small gem of queer culture in Southern Florida. Actually, it is Central Florida. We leave southern Florida to the gators and those that live south of Okeechobee. While highly closeted for years, Tampa has recently started to come out of the closet and there are now plenty of queerific things and people to do when you get your cute little ass down here! Individuals pretty much, but as a city not so much closeted as enclaved. In my high school days, long before Madame Ovary was herself, languishing in lower case without the title Madame, Tampa had it's high profile establishments: Jimmy White's on then Grand Central Blvd, aka Kennedy Blvd, The Carousel on Cass St (I believe it was Cass), the KiKiKi succeeding Jimmy Whites and today in it's third incarnation -- same street different address. The establishments were infamous and quite busy. I could tell on the occasions I would drive by. Ybor Tampa's up and cumming gayborhood is the western end of Ybor â€â€œ commonly known as “Gaybor†by the locals. While the rest of the Ybor section of town has been in decline for the past decade or so, the gay section of town is growing Not suprising as Ybor always possessed a great character even in decline, which started over 20 years ago as the Spanish population migration to West Tampa was well underway. There was a once opulent movie theatre that, as an older kid, I used to sneek into when it fell on hard times as as skin flick house. But as little as a decade ago the gentrified Gay neighborhood had become Hyde Park, an opulent section of Old Tampa with grand old houses that had become terribly run down. This is the one part of the city where gays and lesbians can hold hands and make out in public. It's a heavy cruising area â€â€œ and day or night, you should be able to find the man of your wet dreams. Quite a change from the old days. That would have been the wrong part of town for such carrying on. While you won't find any fine dining in Ybor, you will see more than a dozen hot gay bars and clubs and some of the hottest hookup action in Florida. Au contraire, senor. The Columbia Restaurant, 2117 East 7th Avenue, was and probably remains the flagship of Spanish Restaurants in Tampa and the Florida West Coast and enjoys a worldwide reputation for its artistically tiled walls and Spanish Cuisine. They have branched out from the old days with sites in several Florida cities. I hope the quality hasn't diminshed as sometimes occurs with expansion. See http://www.columbiarestaurant.com/ Gay Beaches Despite having a reputation as a conservative Florida city, Tampa actually has two gay beaches -- sadly, neither of them are nude -- both of which are filled to the brim with cockaholics of all ages and races. This is actually a confusion caused when the appellation Tampa Bay is applied indiscriminately when speaking of any of the local cities: Tampa, Clearwater, St Pete, etc. This was done solely as a maketing ploy for the local NFL franchise to attract fan loyalty. The two beaches mentioned below lie across Tampa Bay on the Gulf Coast. Actually, Tampa does have two beaches of sorts, neither of the ones listed below. There is one on Courtney Cambell Causeway just west of the airport and the other in Port Tampa down past the old Air Force docks. It is called Picnic Island, not actually an island at all. Neither of these beaches are gay, I'm reasonably sure. However, Picnic is sort of isolated and on week days you might the the only one there. Bedrocks is the older and more traditional gay beach. It's located off of Fifth Avenue, and has more cock than you could shake a stick of fire at! There are also concession stands and bathrooms with locking doors â€â€œ just in case you and a new friend need a little bit of “private time†together before hitting the sand! Actually Bedrocks is at the sound end of Sunset Beach on Treasure Island, one of the beach towns directly on the Gulf, west of the City of St Petersburg. The newest and trendiest gay beach is in Fort DeSoto Park. This is where you'll find all the up and cumming gay beach bums competing with each other to see who can be bigger and browner. Located south of St Pete, the city and the beach, and the other beach communities, take the bridges to Tierra Verde and follow the signs. Tierra Verde is an exclusive community started by Guy Lombardo and fellow investors. (For those who remember him.) I used to get in some fine sunbathing at Ft Desoto Park way back when. The Gasparillia Pirate Festival The strangest festival -- and in some ways the most fabulous -- is, on the surface at least, not gay at all! Named in honor of the 'mythical' pirate Jose Gaspar... Definitely not gay!!! Last I knew, and I have no reason to suspect that anything has changed, this is run by Ye Mystic Krewe, the creme de la creme of the upper crust of Tampa Society -- Very Old Money and Very Big New Money. While not a 'gay' festival, I'm sure Kathy Griffin's 'gays' come out for the fun too. Lots has changed, some remains the same. Nice to reminisce about the old neighborhood and times. Thanks Oz for the rekindling the memories.

I have to admit that I have bit of a thing for Brad Pitt as he broke on the scene in Kalifornia and also has he matured as Achilles in Helen of Troy. Also the young guy they wrote our of Lost a couple of seasons ago. And while I'm there maybe the the Doc and the Korean.... maybe more. I don't watch the show so there may be new characters. The black guy on Survivor China has one classic smokin' body. Pure living sculpture.

Great news!! I hope it holds up on appeal. It's one thing to pity the ignorant but I have no pity for the hatefully malicious.

Great news about your son BofN. I hope the road ahead remains as smooth as the past three months. Seems like a solid start. Best wishes for his continued success.

Thanks Townie for keeping us posted. At first glance at the subject line I thought you made the show.

Ummm.... I'm partial to column 1!! Ok, to column 2 also. Then there are a few in column 3... Even column 4 is not to be dismissed. With all that talent and much much more down there I'm sure, what are you doing in NYC????

I was captivated by Murder One. IMO as good a TV show I as I ever encountered. I was really bummed when they 'discontinued it'. Not the first time the TV execs have screwed me over and certainly not the last time either.

Great series. I was a bit disappointed with the final episode as it wrapped some complicated plots up a bit too quickly. However, it left more than enough loose ends to spawn another series. Where did you learn of the follow on?

Oz, Thanks for the nice overview. An enjoyable read. Wish I was there.

Oz, Thanks for the pics. Please, a brief description of the scene and atmosphere? ... for us stay-at-homes.

James, Thanks for sharing the prespective from north of the border. An interesting read about some insights that had escaped this yankee. I do miss the exchange rate of 2002. Canada used to be the best travel deal around and the boys were the cherry on top. Now with the slide in the $ and the $20 dance routines taking hold in MTL, the draw has lost some lustre. However, the people and places still make for a great destination, if somewhat more expensive. Disappointing to hear that Mr Buffet expects this turn around to last five years but I supsect he is right.

Thanks for the link. I saw it on one of the news channels but didnt catch all the lyrics. Too funny. I think Larry might take this on the road to lots of gay clubs. Who knows, the trail could lead to Vegas.

Copa, Thanks for the report. I always enjoy first hand reports from the Spanish saunas. You mentioned that about half the guys were Brazilians. Were the other half mostly Spaniards or a mix of European talent? Thanks also for the link.

I was aware that Candians were strict about entry of individuals with DUI or drug records. I assumed murder and mayhem were also frowned upon. As part of 9/11 Canada and US are sharing databases of individuals with prior offenses. Seems only prudent but it is too bad that some good guys get caught up in it. Nice to know there is an appeal process but I bet that is an steep, uphill road.

ewwwwwwwwww....

Some are starting to let personal invective tones creep into these exchanges, here and in other threads. This is what eventually gets these discussions closed down. Please keep it civil and respectful. One doesn't have to be disagreeable to disagree. Thanks.

I'm no fan of billo either. It was an incredibly stupid thing to say, as was 'nappy headed ho's'. At least Imus was trying to be funny. I'm not sure if that makes it better or worse but it does indicate a motivation. Yeah, it missed the mark by a lightyear as many many of his other comments did. Some hit too. And as comedy it was a stupid attempt. Unfortunately, billo comments seemed to indicate that he has lived the last 30 years in a cave. I don't believe that billo is an avid racist or a closet racist, but it does seem that he carries some latent baggage inconsistent with modern enlightenment. For me it is not so much what he said -- many people say the stupidest things with no real harmful intent. For me it is more that the self-appointed arbiter of right and rightiousness, who on many occasions has flayed many others for foibles intended or unintended, has now fallen on his own sword. Yet he refused to see that the denials he invokes on his behalf are no different in quality than those of many people he has victimized from his bully pulpit. I suspect enlightenment will continue to evade billo as he invokes the mantra that the liberal press is out to get him, much as he has been out to get others. After all, he is the right and rightious one. FWIW

The black guy is naked smokin' heat..... I don't usually go for that much muscle but exceptions are what make the rules.