ihpguy

I'm in the minority, I suppose. But I felt sorry for Dame Shirl. She has lost her voice nad can't belt it anymore. I can remember a couple of filmed one-woman shows on PBS from 15-20 years back. Big differeence. Definitely needs to retool and relearn and switch into the Dionne Warwick, Tony Bennett and per Sunday night Barbra Steisand-style of singing/talky/singing. Halloo, Rex Harrison. Can you give some lessons from beyond the grave to the pretty gal from over in Cardiff?

I'm not sure if the NY TImes coverage of this story is funny, ironic or sad. They have already written on this phenomenon six months ago and for the older article these dietary assumptions were already clearly explained. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/28/magazine/the-island-where-people-forget-to-die.html?pagewanted=all Similar to what the older Brasilians here still are eating with bean, whole grains and lots and lots of fresh fruits and veggies.

PR2K, not sure what is the problem with the butter down here. Ditto the shelf-stable milk. The butter seems just like in the US and with the heat and spotty refrigeration, a solution to the problems of transporting products. Hilarious. When I was in the US, I always had a box or two of IKEA meatballs in the freezer. I think their chocolate bars are the bomb. Not Valrhona from France, but.... great prices, tasty. And their cookie crisps are nice. Thought the same about the meatballs. Good taste, inexpensive. Easy to make a quick tomato sauce with some garlic and onion, and have a meal with pasta when not enough time to stop at the store for a protein. They have a nice, inexpensive breakdast to start the day combined with a morning shopping expedition. On trips back to the US, I almost always plan a trip to IKEA and bring a box or two of the meatballs back to my Mom's home and she just turned 95. Haven't seemed to kill her yet!

Starting this past weekend the Metro stations at Cantagalo and General Osorio have been closed due to the construction of the new line that will connect Ipa with Jardim Oceanico at the more-or-less start of Barra da Tijuca. It is "planned" for Cantagalo to be closed for about a month and the station at Gal Osorio for the next year. The reason is that they are reworking the tunnel and platforms so there will not be a need to change platforms/trains when continuing on to Leblon, Gavea, Sao Conrado and Barra. Here is a link to a site. www.metrolinha4.com.br Not in English, but should be easy to cut and paste into a translator for those with any interest. Most important part is that MetroRio will be running some new shuttle lines for the next year to connect the Siqueira Campos stop with Cantagalo, Arpoador and Ipa until the end of Leblon. Before you exit the turnstyle at the station, be sure to request a free transfer or integracao. MetroRio already operates a number of other bus routes as well in this manner. Makes it easy and cheap to get to various places in Rio away from the limited number of lines.

Timothy Hutton in Ordinary People, off the top of my head.

Safra at Galeo changes money at a rate worse than the cambios in Rio. I know of two Citibanks in Centro Rio de Janeiro that change money. And last week I passed two rehabbed Bradesco branches in centro, they have signs that something on the order of "Cambio Service". But Safra at the airport and in the city is not a good bet.

Thanks. I'll check that out when I am back in the states for my next visit. When I closed my account at Citibank after the change, they never informed me of other options and I did ask. I also went to a Citibank branch down here last year and was never informed of this product. Thanks.

I've got two empty bedrooms until March 5th, when I have a return of the "Tour de Whore" friend. The next boat leaves Praca XV at 5:45Pm and then after that, 7:00PM.

Citibank charges a fee to use their machines and I think they have a limit on withdrawals of 800Reais. I have been having some problems lately at various branches of HSBC. When the cash in the machine gets lower(you can tell because the machines list the types of bills that are available to be dispensed, they lower the amount that can be drawn down to 300Reais. Depending on the branch, they have varied limits of 300, 500, 800 or 1000Reais daily. Bradesco permits international debit card withdrawals with no fee. When I withdrew last week, I went to a different branch and the machine's message was that I was required to "saquer=to withdraw/saque-watchdrawal) from a branchagencia that was Dia E Noite(Day and Night.) My number one safe move is to do a debit withdrawl from the Banco de Brasil branch inside Galeao airport. They have a guard, totally safe and no fee other than the 3%. In the city, I try to always go to the Banco de Brasil branch in front of Candelaria church during business hours. They have a guard on duty and I feel totally secure their. Also right around the corner from Meio Mundo. Do not use Santander/24 Horas/Unibanco. They have a similar withdrawal fee as Citibank. And I always feel that Citibank gives a worse rate on the exchange than Banco de Brasil. It is hard to tell unless testing on a same-day basis and then examining your US bank statement. A few years ago, Citibank was great. I had a US account and could use my debit here to withdraw funds. There was no 3% fee and no fee to withdraw. I think they are at 12Reais/transaction now? HSBC has a saving/investment vehicle with a 75KUS minimum and then there was no 3% transaction fee. I checked last year and that offer is no more. Another shame. I do have experience with fraud down here. A couple of years ago my debit card was cloned. So I do have experience with what "went wrong" I did so many bad things. I used the branch/agencia of HSBC downtown on Rio Branco at 7AM. No during business hours. There was a guy at the other side of the branch. I was afraid of being robbed. Cloning mycard never entered my thinking. What they did then is have a thin piece of paper with a magnetic strip to read my info. I stuck my card in and it was difficult to slide it in. First hint: THERE WAS ALREADY SOMETHING ELSE IN THERE. Then the screen behaved normally with putting in my password, the amount requested and then THE MACHINE WENT DEAD. So I just thought there was a machine error that shut it down. NOT. I used the adjacent one and left. No problem withdrawing money. Within TWENTY-FIVE minutes my card had been cloned and used at a different HSBC branch. So a couple hints in there for anyone interested. I have been told they now have other manners with remote-sending devices but I am not positive about that. I just know my current rules are to only perform a withdrawal/saque during business(10AM-4PM) hours at a branch with a guard and no fees. And on weekends and holidays, go to Santos-Dumont Airport, not far from Clube 117 and on the way to Meio Mundo to do withdrawals. Easy to get there there from Zonal Sul via 413, 415 or 455. And a nice not-too-far walk from Cinelandia Metro stop. Besides gander at any action of Praca Floriano or the floor show at Cine Rex.

Big feet...Big ???

Very hot guy with beautiful eyes.... First photo is looking out towards the private island with weekend/holiday residence for the governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro - Ilha de Brocoio. Photo taken from the Pedra(Rock) da(of the) Moreninha - Romantic legend/novel of young lovers separated by distance - Famous film here from years past "A Moreninha" with Sonia Braga(actress who had the lesbian thing with Samantha in Sex & The City) & David Cardoso(who has also done nudie stuff for magazines here) It's Brasil - most anything goes... In the living room waiting for Sunday dinner.

One story that NEVER got coverage many years ago in Acapulco concerned shark attacks. I am unsure of the situation now, but in those days the municipal government would dump their garbage into the ocean outside of the bay. Of course, this attracted sharks. The numbers I heard were around thirty deaths per year from shark attacks. My neighbor from directly across the street, about forty years ago was on the beach at the Pierre Marques. She witnessed a younger man in his early twenties, son of an airline pilot kicking back with Dad during spring break, in something straight out of "JAWS," get disemboweled when his stomach was ripped open by a shark. She was at the most ten feet away from him in water when the waves went out of three feet. Very scary and of course the Acapulco tourist commission with the help of the press were able to keep these attacks totally out of the news in the days before the internet.

I think I got my love for Latin America from my youth in Mexico. Unfortunately, quite a bit different now than thirty, forty or fifty years ago. From the age of 8, my family had a place there and I spent a minimum of 10 weeks per year sailing on Acapulco Bay and out into the Pacific from the Princess all of the way past Caleta and Pie de la Cuesta.

Here is the roteiro/script in portugues(Portuguese) for you, pr2k. Oi, boa tarde. Com licenca, mas eu acho que voce e muito legal. Posso te comprar uma ou duas cervejinhas? Petsicoes? Gostaria muito te conhecer melhor. Ta bem? If he says Quando? or Onde? Well, that is a good thing, a start. Following, when you are sitting down, you can then go on further and say, Olha, eu nao sei as suas condicoes, mas se eu podia te ajudar. E se voce e disponivel, eu adoraria uma brincaderinha com voce. Qualquer maneira e eu sei onde fica um motel Pronto, lindao/bonita/querido? Translation: Hi. Good afternoon. Excuse me, but I think that you are really nice. Can I buy you one or two beers? Snacks? I would very much like to know you better. At the cafe/lanches/sucos, Look, I don't know your (financial) conditions but I could help you. And if you are available, I would adore a "playtime" with you. Whatever/whichever manner/way and I know the location of a motel. Ready beautiful/handsome/dear? Before you get to the place where you are going to chat, not in the place where you ran into him for part deux, as others around him might know him and hear your discussion, have a motel location already chosen. That is how it's done. (And if anyone could help me on where on this keyboard is a place to enter the accents, that would be a good thing.

Pointe 202 is about a one and a half block walk from the Metro Siquiera Campos stop. Walk away from the ocean, slight uphill walk. Blue awning out front at #202. One flight of steps up to the entrance. Clube 117 is about one block from the Metro Gloria stop. When exiting at street level you'll be on Rua da Gloria. near intersection with Rua Benjamin Constant. Walk about a half-block to Rua Candido Mendes, take a left and it will be about another half-block at #117. Meio Mundo is about a three block walk from the Metro Uruguaiana stop. It is a large station so find the steps/escalator for the exit onto Ave. Easiest to exit if you take one of the first couple of train cars. When you get to the street walk in the direction towards the Candelaria church which is set in the middle of Avenida Presidente Vargas. When you reach the church, there will be a small street right before you get to the Banco Santander. This is Rua da Candelaria. After maybe 60 meters make a left onto Rua Teofilo Otoni and then Meio Mundo will be on your left at the end of the block. The easiest, cheapest and quickest way to get there is to hop one of many buses from Copacana and Ipanema including the 413, 415 and 455. Immediately after you pass through the Mergulhao underpass pull the string or press the button on the bus and you'll be let off right at the corner by the Banco Brasil Centro Cultural if there is a red light or then at the next stop at Avenida Rio Branco. If it is a dead night at Meio Mundo, it won't get any better, so hop the Metro from Uruguaiana or the 422 bus to Gloria

With an agua de coco and their son, Liam. Funny, I just noticed that I have the same shoes as Han Solo, but unfortunately neither the looks, the talent nor the money.

This is the view to the north of Guanabara Bay with the successive lines of mountains. With the earlier sunset, the photo's a bit dark as it was taken just about 30 minutes before sunset. It actually was a very really sunny day.

For 2013, the New York Times has named Rio de Janeiro as their #1 destination to vist. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/01/10/travel/2013-places-to-go.html?ref=travel I went past the Maracana yesterday on the one-day strike for benefits by the 5000 workers was apparently over as the place was a hub of activity. The exterior has been painted and it looks like they are now onto the roof over the seats. The plazas surrounding the stadium seem to be getting the most attention at this time. Per the article, none of my friends have mentioned one thing included except for July's World Youth Day and the planned visit by Papa Bento/Pope Benedict. No with the resignation, not so sure. The MAM (Museum Of Modern Art) in the Parque de Flamengo/Flamengo Park is having a large exhibition of the Treasures of The Vatican. First time any of the items will be sent to South America. My favorite part of their slide show is when they describe Rocinha comunidade/favela as being near Gavea, a very chic neighborhood/bairro. A couple of GP's from the sauna I am acquainted always say that they live "near" Gavea. And I always respond as a joke, " oh yeah, Altos de Gavea(heights of Gavea)" and they chuckle. Because they know that I know that they live in Rocinha. Ditto for guys who live in Pavao/Pavaozinho and say that they live in Copacabana, for example. Much less complicated.

They would take it as a compliment. And here in Rio, the money is always welcome. Supplements and injections and high-quality foods cost serious money.

I haven't been to Meio Mundo too often during the past six weeks. Actually, until last night, only twice. Not feeling too great. And besides Carnaval, there had been the two brothers, revisting my avatar and a scary 6hr visit to the ER, flat on my back, and not in a good way. But nothing compared to what I saw with my own eyes me when I returned last night i had a first shocking glimpse of Eduardo. I always thought he was quite hot. Cannot remember how many years he has been selling his ass at Meio Mundo. But it has been quite some time. A few of us were wondering over the past few months where he had been. He was always one of the regulars. It was his full-time job as a way to support the wife and kids. His nickname there is Mineiro. From Minas Gerais. just assumed that he had retired and taken the family back there to live. But just a guess. No clue. And a sauna is nothing but a place full of gossip. Over the years, he had put on maybe a couple of pounds. The hard abs no more. A growth of a tiny belly, but still sexy. Still really hot. He was wonderful to observe in action. Could go up to almost any client, a few caresses, a few whispered words, and up he went with a client to earn more money to support the wife and kids. Without a doubt, in the past he had more programas than anyone else. I remember one really cute new client. I thought he was very hot. I asked Eduardo if he was a boy or a client. Eduardo told me he'd go see. He talked to the guy for maybe two minutes and then boom. Upstairs they went. No doubt a client whose head was turned by the sweet stories of Eduardo. Great body. cute face, big but not the biggest dick. Nice smile. Handsome. Versatile. Not now. He really is enormous. You wouldn't look at hime twice. He has to have put on at least twenty-five pounds. Not muscle. Not steroids. Just really fat. Walking through the sauna last night, he looked like a client. WITHH? I am too embarrassed to ask him.

There are actually two bodybuilder GP's from 117 who were at the competition at UERJ(State University of Rio de Janeiro) in Maracana in December 2012. Massive cut bodies. One with a LARGE hunk of sausage.

Hora de Verao. Hour of summer. There is the til/tilde in Spanish over the a which I don't have a clue how to do on an English keyboard. I wokre up this morning not realizing the time had changed. Looked at the time on my cable box and thought to myself that it was really bright for so early in the morning. It still didn't hit me. Got on the bike to go the market for the morning's fresh bread and I passed two neighbor chatting about the "hora de verao mudando" "hour of summer changing" so there you go.

Summer hours here in Brasil have now ended. Presently two hours to FlaNy, three to Chicago and five to orwaca. Difference of one less hour when you guys up there spring ahead.

Instead of bitching about Lagoa, why aren't you chasing after your straight boy shop girl at Iguatemi? Your odyssey seems more difficult than that of Ulysses for the Golden Fuck, er....Fleece.

The best part of Salvador is leaving the L.E. Magalhaes International Airport and being only 60 kilometers or so away from my idea of heaven, Praia do Forte and Imbassai, in the Mata de Sao Joao. And to go back in time 50 to 100 years, there are two fishing villages, the second only accessible on foot or dune buggy, just five more kms, Santo Antonio and Diogo.