PeterRS

SchuwZ, said to be Berlin's oldest and biggest gay dance club has finally declared bankruptcy according to a post on Instagram. It was founded in 1977 and had been suffering financially for some years. Rising rents, declining attendance generally in the Berlin Club scene (especially an ageing core clientele) and the failure of a crowd-funding campaign which raised only €3,000 of a €150,000 target have all done nothing to help lower the monthly deficit of between €30,000-€60,000. Despite all this SchutZ hopes ways might be found for it remain open. The dying nighclub scene in Berlin became more pronounced last year. The gay and lesbian Busche Club which opened in 1988 and catered to a more international crowd finally closed. On New Year's Eve Watergate closed after 22 years. Wild Renate has announced plans to close at the end of this year. A planned motorway extension also poses a further threat to several popular clubs in the area around Ostkreuz railway station. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/02/schwuz-berlin-germany-oldest-biggest-gay-nightclub-declares-bankruptcy

Love this clip showing Trump cheating at golf on his recent visit to Scotland. Well, what do you expect from one of the world's master cheats?

I had thought of adding this post to the thread about Love Without A Plan which considers the needs of a partner after one’s death. But this is about a plan whilst alive! Or perhaps, being more accurate, the need for a realistic plan. I can recall less than a handful of posts on the following issue over the last decade or so. It is a cautionary tale. It relates to relationships that some of us have had with Thais or other Asian boys who move with us to a new life in our own country. I have three friends whose similar relationships have worked out extremely well and where genuine love and caring have resulted in more than three decades together – two with Thais, one with a Japanese. Rarely, though, do I recall reading of instances where the Asian has moved to another country and this has not worked out, for one reason or another, resullting in his returning home. I fell into this category. It all took place 30 years ago and started with a visit to the original Babylon. Hanging around by the private rooms hoping to find some pleasant company for an hour or so, I heard a voice behind me. The accent was Australian. Turning around I was about to say I was not interested in western guys. But there looking at me was the most handsome young Thai whom I shall name Noom. Background story is long. The relatively shortened version is that when he was about to finish school in Kanchanaburi, he had met an Australian in Bangkok. This man, whom I shall just call X, was in his mid-40s, very shy and not really into gay sex, primarily I think because of that shyness. But he really wanted companionship. Although not particularly well off, he offered to fly Noom to Sydney, put him up in the second bedroom in his house and pay for studies at Macqaurie University, one of the country's best. Why he would seek to find someone in Thailand rather than one of the many young Thais in Sydney always baffled me, until I also realised X was basically a loner. For nearly three years, all went well. As one who enjoyed gay life, Noom loved Sydney. He was not going to let his friend's lack of interest in the sex scene spoil his enjoyment. Saunas were very much his thing, and he was almost a star because of his body and his looks. But it was not to last. X found himself out of a job during a recession. Now he could no longer afford Noom's last year at university and thus no degree. Being friends, they decided on a solution. X would put his house up for rent, both would fly to rent an inexpensive townhouse in Bangkok where Noom applied to compete his course at the English speaking ABAC University on Ramkhamhaeng. Noom's sister agreed to generally look after X and the house, all of which the Sydney rent would cover – but only just! It was only weeks later that I bumped into Noom in Babylon. After we found a room, amazingly for me all we did was hold each other and chat. No sex! He was beautiful, intelligent and just lovely to be with. I suggested I take him for dinner. After a meal at the popular Whole Earth on Langsuan we started walking towards the Hyatt Hotel where my client had put me up. It was clear he wanted to come to my room where we ended up doing what we had planned to be doing earlier in the evening! Before he left, we both said we'd like to see each other again. I was in my last months working for a company in Tokyo before starting another back in Hong Kong. But my existing brief covered the whole of East Asia and I had a lot of trips still to make. That meant I could fly to Bangkok almost each week for a day or two. End result: we saw a great deal of each other, each time both seemingly becoming more and more infatuated. Certainly I was falling hopelessly in love. Although my new contract was on my desk, I had not signed it. After a lot of thought, I made a serious suggestion to Noom that I not sign it. Instead I’d use up savings to come and spend a year living with him in Bangkok until at least he had his degree. What would happen thereafter I honestly had not considered. Red flag #1. A year seemed such a long time! Apart from his concern over where that would leave X - I always assumed back in Sydney - he said he no longer wanted to live in Bangkok. He wanted to come and stay with me in Hong Kong. Visiting would have been easy. Living permanently vastly more difficult. He'd need an ID card. Without that he could do precious little. Crucially I also had no idea if I could get him into a university to finish his degree. A lecturer friend thought it was just possible, but far from easy! So I did think a lot about it from as many angles as I could and of course I should have said a firm ‘No!’. On the other hand I had many quite influential colleagues in Hong Kong whom I felt could help me get over many the hurdles. Besides, he was adamant. Naively, I gave in. Red flag #2. I did find a way to get him an ID card but the process took many weeks. University was a very different matter and I had been right to be concerned. For him to forfeit the accomplishment of two years of a degree course in Sydney would have been so utterly unfair. Red flag #3. In the meantime, evenings, nights and weekends with him were just a total joy. I merely regretted all the time I had to be away from him working at the new job. Then with Christmas on the horizon, I asked him where he'd like to go for a short vacation. Just as he said Australia, I received a request from my new boss to attend meetings in Melbourne in the run up to Christmas. We decided on a few days in Melbourne followed by a week in Sydney where we both had friends. The destination settled, I was booked in under my name at Melbourne's Hyatt. Noom spent much of the time with his friends when I was working. On our third morning, I was up early and noticed a fax under the door. Since Noom was not a paying guest, the envelope was in my name. Noom was still fast asleep. I then realised my new world was in fact a fantasy. It was a handwritten note to Noom from a professor in Sydney. Basically it said that when he got to Sydney this guy would be thrilled to continue their relationship and for Noom to stay with him. In effect the thought began to hit me that I had been virtually a means to an end. And this was clearly why Noom did not want to stay in Bangkok. I sent a fax to the professor guy to tell him Noom and I were now in a relationship and we would be going back to Hong Kong after Sydney. Quite how I never discovered, but Noom found his response. That basically said he understood and wished Noom and me all the best. But Noom’s attitude thereafter totally changed. He was very angry that I had read the original incoming fax. For two days he became almost insufferable. I also became perhaps too obstinate. As it looked as though our relationship might be coming to an end, then what was the point of his staying with me in Sydney? I told him that either he decided to spend our week together in Sydney to give us time to see what could be worked out, or I would change his ticket and have him fly back to Bangkok as soon as we reached Sydney airport. This was all a part of Noom I had never seen before - or even with any other Thai guy. A total change, almost an about turn. I tried to see it from his point of view - and in that I had a degree of success. But it did not lessen the pain. If he stayed on with me in Sydney and then moved in with the other guy, he'd still eventually have to return to Hong Kong to pick up everything he had left in my flat. How could he afford to do that? How would I feel? As his mood just did not change, I came to the conclusion it would be best to send him back to Bangkok. At least there he would be able eventually to finish his degree. Since I knew where he lived in Bangkok, on future visits I was tempted to go over to that part of town and at least apologise for the part that I played in disrupting his life. But I didn't. Of course I blamed him for withholding information about what he could have called a 'previous' relationship Sydney. On the other hand, I also blamed myself for not seeing the red lights flashing. Yet I often wondered: how by coming to Hong Kong did he expect we would eventually be going to Australia so that he could be with the other guy? I suppose at some point I must have told him that as I would be reporting to the regional office in Sydney, that might mean I'd have to attend occasional meetings there. Like more than a few have done, I had let my heart overrule my head – in a big way. And I ought to have been perfectly well aware of this. It is advice that every visitor to Bangkok is told to avoid! After I had packed up what he had left in Hong Kong, I never saw him again. If that episode with Noom finally made me realise one thing, it is that unlike my three friends mentioned at the outset I was clearly far too wrapped up in my work to devote the time and the understanding to making a relationship with a Thai or any other Asian develop and mature outside his own country. I learned the hard way. I should just have been content with the adventures I had always had with lovely guys in Hong Kong. I hope others are much more realistic when they visit Thailand and fall for the boy of their dreams. We do need to consider their dreams and possible motives just as seriously as our own.

Most sources agree he was beheaded at the age of 26, the same age as Frederick. Its on-going mental trauma on the young Frederick must have been horrific.

That is not what the poll was about. As I wrote, a majority of the people of Taiwan, an island I visit 3 or 4 times each year, have voted regularly in poll after poll that they do not want independence. That is what matters to them and I suspect - but obviously do not know - that any form of declaration of independence is what China is afraid of. Why is it almost always foreigners who bring up the issue of Taiwan independence and who play the Taiwan card, usually for their own benefit?

Just looked again at this thread. Frankly I do not know where you found that porn but I reckon you must know that dissemination of images of sexual acts in China is punishable by law. You'll also know that taking pictures of sexual activities in a private setting and sharing them also violates privacy rights and would almost certainly be deemed a criminal offence. Having visted China dozens of times and with Chinese gay friends living there, not only is Telegram banned (as mentioned earlier), very few social media sites would dare carry the type of porn you describe in the OP and its volume. Gay porn is very much under the radar to avoid action from the police. So I wonder where it originated - certainly not China.

But I still would not tell him that to his face, sorry. Only if he was a very good friend would I even broach the subject. Otherwise, it's his money to spend as he wishes in my view.

I was also there relatively recently. Frankly I found it boring. Even the beach where my hotel was located was tiny. If you go at the end of the year, you have to remember that Hua Hin is very exposed to the winter monsoon winds. On three of my five days it was even chilly lying by the pool! I had been decades ago and enjoyed it. Not this time, though.

Politeness. A desire not to intrude on other people's lives. The possibility that we might then become a target of their criticisms and longer-term verbal sparring breaking out. Example. My father was a doctor working for Britain's National Health Service. Doctors' pay was poor in those days and he had only one interest other than ensuring his children had a good education. He loved cars. Every five years or so he would get a new one. Nothing fancy in any way. Just a nice car. He loved showing them off, whereas I am sure some thought he was being stupid - a) for upgrading a car relatively quickly in those days, and b) for being so pleased about his purchase. But I can not recall anyone calling that "stupid, unreasonable or weird". It gave him joy and no one wanted to take that away from him.

In Asia there were also quite a number of examples of friendships/love between adolescent youths and older men. The elite samurai in Japan were well known to have had boy apprentices learning skills in martial arts and the samurai code of honour who in effect became bedmates. The relationships ended once the boys came of age later in their teens. Yet perhaps oddly, I think it is true to write that those who have portrayed Japanese history in recent culture including in books and movies have steered well clear of this "nanshoku" until very recently. None of the hundreds of movies about samurai, including those by the great movie maker Akira Kurosawa, even hint at nanshoku. Historically the names usually given to the practice were nanshoku (男色), shudō (衆道) and wakashudō (若衆道). As the practice was eventually discouraged in the late 18th century, attractive boys took to the stage to act in kabuki dramas, for example, or to become prostitutes. In Korea there are many references to the love of older men for younger boys, although not quite as young as with the Japanese samurai. During the Silla Dynasty, King Hyegong who ruled from 765-780 AD was known for his adventures with other men. He was even described as “a man by appearance but a woman by nature.” One group of his elite warriors were the Hwarang or ‘Flower Boys’, so called because of their homoeroticism and femininity. During the later Koryŏ Dynasty, King Mokjong (997-1009 AD) and King Gongmin (1351-1374 AD) are both on record as having several male lovers. When his wife died, Gongmin even went so far as to create a Ministry whose sole purpose was to seek out and recruit young men from all over the country to serve at his Court. His sexual partners were called “little brother attendants”! Good fly on the wall hanky panky there, I think!

Interestingly, Lehrer had little interest in what he was paid for his performances. At a time when artists with even a remote degree of popularity had lawyers draw up all manner of documents to protect their copyrights, Lehrer did the opposite. He had one drawn up allowing anyone to use his works in any way at any time at no cost.

So far it seems that the faults under the Pacific are more serious than those under the west coast of the USA. In the last 21 years we've had the giant 9.2-9.3 eathquake off Indonesia which resulted in the horrific Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, the devastating 9-9.1 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011, and now the 8.8 quake off eastern Russia. The biggest California quake in the last 40 years was just 7.4. I wonder how the state, and LA in particular, would cope with one closer to 9. The devastation would I suspect be utterly disastrous.

I assure you that the "special delights" I mentioned did not exclusively refer to temples and palaces! Paraphrasing a post I wrote some months ago, it did not take long for me to become a voracious Suriwong, Ni-chome and other gay districts attendee - well, let's be honest, slut!

Another massive quake has hit, this time to the east of Russia. 8.8 on the Richter scale is a huge earthquake getting quite close to that off Japan in 2011 which resulted in such massive destruction. Evacuation orders have been posted in Japan and Hawaii and the first tsunami has now hit Japan's Hokkaido. Mercifully it was small. Tsunami warnings are in place all over the Pacific, even as far as Ecuador. The Russian Academy of Sciences has warned that aftershocks, possibly as large as 7.5, should be expected for the next month. https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c3r4x9yrrg4t

Because we all have our own priorities I do not think we have a right to criticise others for their choices. I have certainly enjoyed far more amazing life experiences than I ever dreamed of when I started my career and I put that down initially as much to stubbornness and serendipity as to making a specific choice. Still in my 20s I just decided that if I were to get further up the ladder in the type of job I was doing and enjoying, there were so few available in the UK I had first to move abroad for a few years. It was always said that experience overseas would be an advantage when I returned to work again in the UK. I assumed that would mean the USA and I did make a couple of trips to see what jobs might be available. Then totally out of the blue i was asked if I'd like to be considered for a job in Hong Kong. I knew absolutely nothing about Asia and all its different countries. The furthest east I had been was for holidays in Crete and Rhodes. Had I not agreed to go and be interviewed, I have no idea if I would ever have considered visiting Thailand. Certainly in those far off days it was much too far away and flights far too expensive. But I did go to that interview, got the job and within a month found myself in Hong Kong for what I assumed would be no more than three years. Staggered by the place, I kind of fell in love with it within days. From then on my life totally changed - and I just could not believe my luck. Less than five months later I was discovering the special delights of Bangkok, and soon thereafter many other countries in this amazing continent. Only once since then have I ever seriously thought about leaving Asia. I am happy I did not.

A dozen years ago I saw these umbrellas in the window of a shop in Talinn in Estonia. I always felt I should have bought one so that I could hit anyone giving me unsolicited advice over the head with it!

Several times I visited friends who lived in Pasadena for 20 years in the 1980s and 1990s. I know the LA area has had quite a number of earthquakes - but no major one has hit down town. Since those skyscrapers were built, construction in earthquake zones has advanced considerably. You only have to look at Tokyo where there are earthquakes under the city virtually every 6 weeks or so (yes, I did live there and I did experience them). Or in Taipei where Taipei 101 was until quite recently the tallest buiding in the world. And Taiwan lies on a major earthquake zone. I have experienced at least six quakes there - some jerking, some plain rumbling. As this LA Times article points out, the worst quake was the one at Sylmar (better known as the San Fernando quake) on February 9, 1971. Although this caused death and destruction - 2 hospitals flattened, elevated highways destroyed and many low rise homes suffering damage - their construction had been mostly rigid concrete. Apart from City Hall, the city regulations had forbidden any building over 13 stories until they were repealed in 1966. Up popped the group we now regard as the centre of the city. The problem for LA, though, was less the effect on the skyscrapers than that on the surrounding countryside. "The top of the earthen Lower Van Norman Dam melted into the reservoir. No one knows exactly what kept the dam near Granada Hills from collapsing," said the article in the Times. Had it done so, that 1971 quake could have resulted in vastly more damage and become "many times over" the most deadly in US history. Scientists still wonder if the quake had lasted just a few seconds longer, could the dam have withstood the shaking? The state geologist reckons over 100,000 would have been killed. Following that quake, some high rises were retrofitted to make them more earthquake proof. But far from all. In 2013 the Mayor gave a 30 year deadline for retrofitting to be completed. 30 years? So some buildings could still be in their original state 54 years after the Sylmar quake! What devastation might occur before 2043? And let's never forget. That 1971 quake was only a 6.6 magnitude quake. The Tohoku earthquke off Japan in 2011 was between 9.00 and 9.1 magnitude. Would present day Los Angeles survive anything anywhere close to that. I very sincerely doubt it. My point is that LA is not a good example for earthquake-proof construction of high rise buildings. Tokyo and Taipei are far better examples. Yet as @TheBossBabyback points out, integrated medium-high rises could be an answer to the housing problem, but for one thing - cost. Who is going to pay their construction and maintenance for what would be much more expensive housing? https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-02-09/50-years-ago-1971-sylmar-earthquake-shook-la

He taught mathematics and musical theatre, and was a classically trained pianist. He also had an ear for satire just as a satire boom was about to explode on both sides of the Atlantic. Tom Lehrer's satire was witty and sometimes a bit daring in the 1950s and 60s, but for many years he became incredibly popular with his songs on topics of the day, often involving black humour. Yet they did not last the test of time. I expect they were never meant to, but that's just my opinion. They were just very much of their time. Lehrer died yesterday at the age of 97. Although he was Jewish, perhaps they might play his Vatican Rag at the funeral. In the meantime, with war going on in so many parts of the world, I think this song is particularly apt - and amusing.

There may be some sort of end in sight. Both parties in the conflict have agreed to meet in Malaysia with a view to finding a way of ending the fighting. Malaysia's Prime Minister is the Chair of the Association of South East Asian Nations.

We are close to the 44th anniversary of President Reagan firing 11,000 air traffic controllers who had disobeyed his order to return to work following their strike on August 3 1981. I know that thousands of flights had to be cancelled in the days following that action. But I can't seem to find references on the internet as to how the administration immediately was able almost immmediately to replace such key, highly trained and important specialist jobs in a vital industry. Anyone remember?

Then a new thread might be more appropriate. That could prove quite interesting.

Three guys in history? They're still with us 🤣

I love Sydney and visited regularly on business and to stay with friends around 15 times, usually around the Christmas/New Year period. Thankfully I was never involved in the bush fires. But I was at a meeting in Pacific Grove CA on the afternoon of 1 October 1989 when the magnitude 6.9 quake occurred in the Santa Cruz mountains only around 30 miles away. It awas the largest to strike the San Franscisco area since that of 1906. The quake was quite frightening, but as much for the aftershocks as the event itself.

I subscribe to just one youtube travel channel because I have found quite a few are generally a waste of time! No doubt others will disagree. Solo Solo Travel is run by a young Japanese guy - I am assuming he is late 20s/early 30s. How he pays for his travel I do not know because he rarely has any sponsors. Yet he travels a lot in first and business class around the world. One vdo even has him travelling on Etihad's hugely expensive Residence Suite. He also has some fascinating vdos of bus and train trips in Japan and low cost hotels, including one to a fabulous Japanese winter spa town which I hope to visit. Thankfully there is no intrusive music or aural commentary. His comments are all in English at the foot of the vdos - and some are often quite funny. He has become extremely popular with over 1.4 million subscribers. Today I noticed this vdo posted only a few hours ago. I was surprised that ZipAir started in 2018 and is wholly owned by JAL. It is a no frills low cost carrier, but it does have a business class with flat bed seats in a 1-2-1 layout and free wifi throughout the aircraft. And that's about all. No drinks, no TV monitors, no overnight kits - just the bed and a low price. As usual, you pay extra for luggage, pre-ordered meal service, even a rather nice overnight kit. The flight in the video is from LAX to Tokyo's Narita airport. The one way business class price was US$1,050. The add ons for hold baggage, meal and overnight kit seem to come to around $75. The Kayak website has the cheapest one way ticket on regular carriers at over $3,000. ZipAir now has services to other North American cities. For Bangkok residents interested in visiting Japan, ZipAir seems to be linked to Air Asia as one sector is usually on that airline with the cheapest eonomy daytime flight cost of Bt. 13,785, but that does mean paying for hold baggage on the Air Asia outward sector. Not on the ZipAir return. For both flights in business class, Zipair has flights but the outward sector has to be overnight. The basic price is US$1,100 which is at least $500 cheaper than full fare scheduled carriers. Great if all you want to do is sleep on a flat bed!

I have often wondered what gay stories Alexander the Great would have to tell. We know of his deep love for Hephaistion and how Alexander was overwhelmed with grief at his death aged 32. We know, too, from Mary Renault's excellent book The Persian Boy about Bagoas, the beautiful young boy from a noble family, castrated and presented to the Darius King of Persia who in turn presented him to Alexander. Almost certainly they became lovers even though Hephaistion was still alive at this time. Castration, a common practice for millennia in many countries where eunuchs were entrusted with conrol of harems and in some countries like China could wield great power, must have been an incredibly painful operation with many young boys dying in the process. One who fascinates me is a man castrated in order to retain his glorious boy soprano voice who went on to become as famous and as wealthy as many of today's pop stars, Carlo Broschi known as Farinelli. Born in 1705 when the use of the castrato voice was becoming very popular in the world of opera, he had arguably one of the greatest operatic voices of all time. Women fainted in his presence, others roared approval at his vocal feats - with the lung power and strength of a man allied to the sweetness and agility of his unbroken voice - it is unlikely any singer today could match him. But then Farinelli was not gay, so he would not be on my list. He was though an unsurprising result of an edict from the Catholic Church around 1592 which banned women from making sounds in churches. Some singers had to take the soprano and alto lines. Hence the increasing tendency for castration, even though most of those mostly poor boys either died or lived desperately sad and unhappy lives. For those who rose to the top like Farinelli, though, they could become fabulously wealthy. It was not until the mid 1870s that the Catholic Church banned the practice. The last castrato, a man named Moreschi, sang in the Sistine Chapel Choir which had six other castrati when he joined. He was known as the "Angel of Rome". The only known examples of the castrato voice were made by Moreschi on old cylindrical devices. Although by then only in his early 40s, the voice is nothing like that of Farinelli in the movie. Many regard the thin, often off-key sound as a voice well past its prime. Nowadays the castrato voice has been taken by countertenors who use their head voice to reach the higher pitch. This is a short example by the superb - and very good-looking! - French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky who has been in a long term gay relationship since 2007.