PeterRS

The famed advertising tycoon David Ogilvie once wrote, "Encourage innovation. Change is our lifeblood. Stagnation our death knell." Emile Zola had a slightly different view. "This sounded the death knell of small family businesses, soon to be followed by the disappearance of the individual entrepreneur, gobbled up by the increasingly hungry ogre of capitalism." I'm not sure how relevant these are to the end of what had appeared to be one relatively popular bar in Sunee Plaza. But it was obvious Sunee was dying years ago. Was it due to it just becoming boring? Did it make any real attempts to change? Was Winner Bar ever likely to survive? I visited once quite soon after it opened and enjoyed it. But for a piece of real estate for most gay patrons in a dying part of town being open for just 6 hours a day, maintaining quite a large stock of booze and praying that each low season would be better that the last, surely that required some sort of miracle. What change might be required to reverse this dying trend I have no idea. All I can think of is clustering of venues as in Jomtien and as used to be in Bangkok's Soi Twilight. But this would require bar and venue owners to come together to work out a strategy and plan for the future. From what I recall, in the past owners rarely had much interest in any other than their own venue.

Interesting article. And rather shocking that Americans spend more time alone today than at any time in recorded history. I suspect that also appies to more than a few other countries. Another factor is that American men spend 7 hours in front of their televisions for every one they hang out with friends. As it states, "The rise of individualism and solitude since 1970 has been all-encompassing." The author places blame on social media - but only to a certain extent. His conclusion, though, is damning. "To be a citizen of the Internet is to spend hundreds of hours inside the minds of virtual people we couldn’t party with, even if we desperately wanted to." When I was at university in the UK many decades ago and for the few years I worked there before moving to Asia, there always seemed to be parties in someone's home every week-end. Usually very simple ones - bring your own bottle etc. - but it was the regular means of socialising. And of meeting fellow gays for hook-ups or even just friendships. Without social media and even phone calls being expensive, home parties were the ideal way to meet others. Partying in a restaurant was extremely rare as dining out took up a considerably greater percentage of income. But Asia is not like the west. I quickly found that while people did give parties they were almost exclusively in restaurants - rarely expensive ones. Socialising was done over mah jong before dinner, lots of food and drink, chat and laughter, and then - finish. As soon as dinner was over, that was the cue for everyone to depart. A large part of the reason is that in Hong Kong - and no doubt many Asian homes - accommodation is mostly a small fraction of the size of that in the west. Being invited to homes for dinners or parties was almost exclusively for the richer members of society. I had two gay friends in Hong Kong who were, let's say, not short of a dollar or two. One was a really good cook and so they regularly invited friends for wonderful dinners and parties always with interesting fellow guests, many from the gay community. They were, though, an exception. I find the same here in Bangkok. Thais - or at least those that I know - rarely entertain at home.

As usual @macaroni21 has been very comprehensive. I remember 15-20 years or so ago when the free gay mags used to include maps, there were always complaints that they were either not up to date or venues were not quite in the right location. But the problem then was that so much on the gay scene was changing almost monthly and the mags had no one on site to go around checking. From what I read here things seem to be a bit more stable now, but I am certainly not the person to confirm that.

I only read about these sites on a music blog. Seems Classic FM has been going downhill in terms of listeners for quite some time. It has recently pinched a young producer Joseph Zubier from the BBC's Radio 3 classical channel to become its new Deputy MD.

I recently came across a youtube video titled "The Tragic Life of Male Concubines in Roman Empire". It goes into detail about how keeping boys as male concubines was a much more common practice on an horrific scale than most will have realised, with boys around 12 being especially desired. Greek boys were more expensive due to their perceived sophistication, refinement and education. The vdo is much too long as there is too much endless repetition. But it made me want to learn more. Youtube does not permit uploading of the vdo - this is the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rimSgImcd-w One of the commentators mentions that some of detail in the video is contained in a 2005 book titled "Rubicon" by the author Tom Holland. Looking up the book on amazon, I note that it gets a slew of excellent reviews from professional reviewers, as this from the Los Angeles Times - “A fascinating picture of Roman city life. . . . In every aspect of this story, Holland expertly makes the Romans, so alien and yet so familiar, relevant to us.” Inevitably the issue of concubines forms only a small part of the book. One amazon reviewer more neatly sums it up - "you invariably tend to sketch the potraits of several events that have been magisterially described by the author, as if he is describing contemporary events." Amazon's Kindle edition is available for US$4.99. Another professional reviewer draws parallels with 21st century life. Certainly and very sadly the trafficking of young girls and boys continues to this day.

Thankfully his two feet are firmly locked up now. How he was permitted to remain as a Congressman as details of all his lying and deceiving trickled out is extraordinary! Just noticed his statement made prior to entering jail - "I’m heading to prison, folks and I need you to hear this loud and clear: I’m not suicidal. I’m not depressed. I have no intentions of harming myself, and I will not willingly engage in any sexual activity while I’m in there," he posted on X. " If anything comes out suggesting otherwise, consider it a lie…full stop. The statistics around what happens to gay men in BOP custody are horrifying, and that’s exactly why I’m putting this out there now. So if something does happen, there’s no confusion. Seems like he plans to enjoy himself when there. "Willingly not engage in any sexual activity?" How about unwillingly? My guess is he'll be used like never before! https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/george-santos-issues-statement-heading-prison-im-not-suicidal

Google translates the first line on the website as - Hi Sis Club Pattaya By Sit2sis, a club that will make everyone have fun all night long, with a KTV room 🎤 and girls to take care of you closely. Later it says this - Do you miss our girls? Come and see our girls. The shop opens from 22:00 onwards. Doesn't sound remotely like a gay venue. No idea why it has a vdo of guys!

Schuller once tackled a United Airlines flight attendant when flying first class from New York to LA. He put the poor guy in a headlock because he had not served him fruit with his cheese or hung up his garment bag! But he must be turning in his grave now, but not in repentance for that incident. In 1980 he opened his massive Crystal Cathedral before 3,000 guests who had each paid US$1,500 for the privilege. His weekly "Hour of Power" televised sermons all came from that glittering building. Only, the same as happened with Jim Bakker and his outfit, Schuller's mob had not been minding their cash in an appropriate manner. In fact, they ran out of it. The Ministry declared bankruptcy in 2010. The Crystal Cathedral was eventually sold. Now - and this is the part that must have the mortal remains of Schuller spitting blood from whatever remains of his corpse - it is owned and run by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County. As with most of these other religious con men, Schuller and his fmaily were dismissed from their Ministry. Yet the Lord works in weird and wonderful ways. The Ministry is now run by Schuller's grandson, Robert! And the "Hour of Power" is still broadcast although from much smaller premises. During one service, Robert announced that his wife had been related to Elvis Presley! And most of these so-called Ministries have tax exempt status. Glory! Hallelujah!

I listened to the first 75 seconds and then gave up. That podcast is frankly misnamed. It really has precious little to do with the "Arts" in Thailand or of Thailand. It's almost exclusively about pop culture. No problem with that, except that is how it should be titled. Thai "arts and culture" cover quite an array of different art forms from Khon and many other forms of Thai classical dance, painting including the stunning frescos in many temples including the stunning Temple of the Emerald Buddha, ceramics, traditional Thai puppetry (the Joe Louis Thai Puppet Theatre is stunning), the dfferent forms of Thai architecture, Thai classical music as well as the work being done by the country's more modern symphony orchestras and ensembles etc. etc. Any programme about the arts of Thailand should also spend a few minutes on how that cuture has developed, particularly in its relation to religion and history. Sorry @zombie! Probably a great listen for those only interested in pop culture. But the podcast is not what it portrays to be!

I have described most of my firsts in other posts and so will not waste others' time repeating them here. Like many who had been sent to a boarding school when quite young, I quickly learned about mutual masturbation and other boyish activities by the time I was 10. Not being able to cum even though having an orgasm was a major concern when others were spraying so much. But then soon all that changed. I had crush after crush when I moved to a day school aged 12. But I was too nervous to do anything about them. Eventually along with my next door friend, my age and at the same school, experimented a bit, but it was really only for mutual release. Real love (at least that is how it felt) came into the equation in my second year at university. For almost a year I lusted after one boy/young man not realising that he was also lusting after me. One day in a quiet college room we finally realised this. He was staying in one of the halls of residence where we arranged to meet the following afternoon. That felt like sparks of magic were happening! For a while we were inseparable. But then he had to move away and ever so slowly those sparks lost their brightness. But others appeared! I remain happy that I remain in contact with that first love of my life. Every year when I return to the UK for a couple of weeks, we meet up for a lunch that ends up far too drunken for us to remember much afterwards. But they are happy occasions. Rarely do we ever talk about our university years. But we remember them.

In all my years in Thailand i have never listened to the BBC's broadcasts. Before then for a couple of decades in Hong Kong I almost always tuned in to what was then called the BBC World Service, a 24-hour English channel with news on the hour interspersed with a number of very good programmes. I'm not even sure if it exists any more. My very first job after university was as a trainee with the BBC in London. We had to spend three months of that course working in Bush House, a very large building centrally situated in the midle of The Strand. This was then the location of the World Service. But it also broadcast programmes in a total of around 45 different languages and was paid for by the government. As Studio Managers, we rarely worked on 'live' programmes. Most had been taped in advance. So all we had to do was pick up the relevant tape from the library, go to the tiny cubicle of a studio, do all the checks and balances and then wait for the red light to come on when we would start the tape rolling. Sometimes I recall having to work the night shift when we would broadcast the news around the world starting with China and then working our way through various countries before the last one to Germany. What I remember most, though, was the basement buffet canteen. Catering for so many nationalities, it had a wondrous array of dishes i had never heard of before, let alone taste. I have often wondered if it was the cuisine in that canteen that developed my love of travel.

I agree with you 100%. What has happened in Gaza in the last 18 months or more is one of the great crimes against humanity. Three years ago when back in the UK staying with my sister, knowing of my interest in Taiwan she arranged lunch with a lovely young Taiwanese who had recently moved into the neighbourhood and her Palestinian doctor husband. When Israel started its incursion into Gaza (which given what Hamas had recently done in Israel may have had some justification, even though Israeli intelligence had totally botched up its mandate), the doctor was immediately concerned. It was not just that his parents, brother and sister lived in Gaza, he had a total of 26 relatives living there. He immediately gave up his work as a doctor to fly to the Middle East to see if and how he could get everyone out. It took more than a year to raise the required cash from all of their friends as well as a GoFundMe page. Eventually he did get everyone out. Some are now in the UK, others in Canada and yet more still stuck in Egypt awaiting resettlement. That young man was determined to rescue his family. Hundreds of thousands of others must have wished they could have done the same but either had no clue how to achieve that goal or were unable to raise enough money. It's so dispiriting - and often makes me furious - that had Yitzhak Rabin not been assassinated in 1995 by one of his own Jewish extreme right wing, perhaps - just perhaps - everything would have turned out so differently. Netanyahu has always been a right wing zealot determined to see an end to those he perceives as Israel's enemies. Without the recent wars he himself would have been in the dock for crimes the Israeli prosecutors know he has committed. He will no doubt continue on his evil path if only to see he is six feet under before ever seeing the inside of an Israeli court.

Apologies to all as my information above seems to be incorrect.

This thread is about classical music - nothing to do with pop and rock!

I was present at a concert in Hong Kong recently when Seong-Jin Cho gave an absolutely mind-blowing performance of the fiendishly difficult Prokofiev Second Concerto. Interestingly it was conducted by the young 25-year old whizz kid conductor Tarmo Peltokowski who is the Hong Kong orchestra's new Music Director after Jaap van Zweden's departure after 12 years at the helm. Thanks largely to van Zweden and his predecessor Edo de Waart, the HK Philharmonic is now one of the world's best, having won Gramophone magazine's coveted Orchestra of the Year award in 2019 for its recording of Wagner's Ring cycle. Peltokowski is another of the students of the great Finnish conducting pedagogue Jorma Panula. Now at the venerable age of 95 he has honed the skills of so many of today's conductors, including 29-year old Klaus Makela who is soon to take over two of the world's top orchestras: the Chicago Symphony and the Royal Concertgeouw. I only saw Yuja Wang once performing Brahms Second Concerto with the New York Phil under van Zweden some years ago. The concert was in Taipei's main Concert Hall with its glorious acoustics. Although seated in the centre of the stalls, my friend and I were rather underwhelmed. The fact was the piano was frequently lost in the orchestral sound. Being generous to an artiste who I know is superb, I suspect the conductor had not had a colleague sit in the stalls during the earlier balance rehearsal. Pity!

Just one word of warning. @khaolakguy's post is very perceptive. Both go to see the lawyer so that P will not be too uncomfortable when the time eventually comes to discuss your will with him. I will only add one more caveat: beware of lawyers who advertise cheap wills on the internet. The first will I made out here was with such a lawyer who happened to be based in Phuket and I thought everything was settled. Unfortunately not. He had omitted to include one important clause and then to advise me to amend it some years later when legislation changed. Get a good lawyer and don't be put off by the fee. I now have an excellent one in Bangkok but you will be looking for one in Pattaya where I am sure there are many.

How wrong you are! But you will never accept it! Gergiev is Putin's main spokesman. That's why Putin awarded him with the artistic direction of the Bolshoi in Moscow as well as his Mariinsky in St. Petersburg. No conductor has ever before controlled both Houses! Note also that I was discussing top international artists who are prodigies. You brought in the vocally failing Netrebko who will soon be nearing the end of her career. I admit I brought in 72-year old Gergiev, but only because he is Putin's close friend. Since the invasion of Ukraine, the only country he has worked in outside Russia has been China plus one propaganda exercise in Palmyra in Syria. Funny that he was an officially authorised surrogate for Putin's 2018 election campaign. Absolutely "no one put him under intense pressure", as you quite incorrectly claim. Once lauded everywhere as a guest conductor, in addition to his Russian opera Houses he is now stuck conducting local orchestras at venues like the Kamaz truck and bus factory in Tatarstan, or in the small village of Chorny Otrog, the Ural foothills hometown of late prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin. I know the business of classical music extremely well - and with respect probably a great deal better than you. Of the list you posted, I know of only four top international names - Gergiev, Netrebko, Matsuev (who certainly is a superb pianist) and the violist Yuri Bashmet. Bashmet had a huge career in the west until he signed a letter approving of the invasion of Ukraine. End of western concertising! The others are basically international nobodies. You write "authoritarian Russia still announced no one". Of course you realise why that is. Western artists will not go near Russia while it wages war no matter what incentives Putin's Culture Ministry might offer!

Netanyahu turned up at the White House yesterday bearing a gift. A nomination for Trump to receive the Nobel Pece Prize! Does anyone take Netanyahu seriously these days? Or Trump, for that matter? https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5388994-netanyahu-trump-nobel-peace-prize/

1) So? I don't believe this young man was under pressure from anyone. You totally fail to mention that even before his first concerts in Canada were cancelled, he wrote this on a popular classical music blog site read by millions, "I do understand that my problems are very insignificant compared to those of people in Ukraine, including my relatives who live there. The most important thing now is to stop the blood. All I know is that the spread of hatred will not help in any way, but only cause more suffering." And as NPR stated on March 12 2002 - "Russian pianist Alexander Malofeev, 20, has condemned his native country's invasion and war against Ukraine. But that hasn't kept a string of his concerts from being canceled in Canada" Why would he speak out earlier while many of his family still remained in Russia and could therefore be targeted for persecution? The fact that he fled from Russia to settle in Berlin shows that he is totally unlike other Putin arts warmongers. With a fabulous career in front of him, why would he - or any other young musical prodigy - elect to stay in Russia where his opportunities for international recognition as a great artist would be virtually zero? Performing in Vladivostok, Perm, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Omsk and similar? Not what makes an international star's career! 2) You have already mentioned Anna Netrebko whose voice frankly is no longer in the pristine shape as it used to be. She also tried to sue the Metropolitan Opera without much success. Sue any major artistic organisation and expect to be re-engaged in the future? Fat chance! You failed to mention Putin's greatest artistic admirer, the conductor Valery Gergiev. Music Director of both the Mariinsky Opera in St. Petersburg and now also of the Bolshoi Opera in Moscow, he used to have a major career in the west in demand virtually everywhere. At one time, for example, he was Principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, also of the Munich Philharmonic, the Verbier Festival Orchestra and a regular guest conductor at Milan's famed La Scala and New York's Metropolitan Opera. Now he has been dropped from every post and guest conducting position in the west. No one in the west will touch him because he is Putin's artistic spokesman, (proudly so it would seem from his statements). Let's not forget also that he was - and may still be - homophobic. Let's also not forget that his career in the west made him very rich. According to the Anti-Corruption Federation of the late murdered Alex Navalny, he had purchased several homes in Italy, including the Palazzo Barabrigo in Venice, and in the USA as well as in Russia where Putin has contributed to his fortune. In 2022 as a result of the war, the Corriere della Serra confirmed his Italian properties had been put on the market for $150 miilion. Not bad for someone waving his fingers in front of an orchestra (Gergiev does not use a baton, although sometimes he resorts to a tiny toothpick!) https://www.npr.org/2022/03/12/1086282867/a-russian-pianists-shows-are-canceled-even-though-he-condemns-the-war-in-ukraine

Is there anyone, anywhere - even in Trump's administration - who actually believes there is no list? Are we expected to believe that he chewed and swallowed it before being tipped off about his being arrested? From what we have learned about Epstein, among his many other dreadful traits the man was a master manipulator. Of course he had a list - and for us to be expected to believe it might have just been in his head has to be pure b/s. Somewhere there is a list with Trump, Clinton, Dershowitz, Prince Andrew and no doubt hundreds of other names on it. Perhaps his partner in crime Ghislaine Maxwell might know where it is, but I doubt it as surely she would have used that information to lighten her jail sentence. Someone must know and the secret remains hidden for the time being. Once Trump has finally been ousted fro the White house or is six feet under, that person may come forward. Whoever he or she may be, there will many tens of millions to be made from a book deal and various media events.

I have enjoyed what is rather loosely termed classical music since I started piano lessons at the age of six. I have had the joy of hearing many of the great musicians in concert and others on CDs and other means. Occasionally I come across a musician who I find extraordinary and of whom I have heard nothing at all! Anyone who happened to watch the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Finals (something I would never normally do) will know that the 18-year old South Korean winner Yunchan Lim is an absolute genius. That one so young had never studied outside South Korea was extraordinary. And when he completed the marathon Third Concerto by Rachmaninoff, the conductor Marin Alsop was in tears, so magnificent had been his playing. He won the Competition by a large margin and is now a superstar. This morning I found a youtube concert by a young (and now very handsome!) 23-year old Russian, Alexander Malofeev. I was knocked out by his playing. This is a youtube version of his playing the very popular Second Concerto by Rachmaninof when he was only 15. The second movement is quite short and has several popular themes. One you will recognise is "All By Myself", the song made popular by Eric Carmen who himself was trained as a classical pianist. Carmen actually used this theme believing that Rachmaninoff's works were out of copyright. It so happened they were in the USA, but not in the rest of the world. As a result Rachmaninoff's estate earned hundreds of thousands of dollars! Start at 11:30 and the movement ends at 21:55 Malofeev could easily have stayed in Russia and been feted as a virtuoso pianist. Instead, in 2022 he was one of the few top Russian musicians to denounce Russia's invasion of Ukraine, declaring "every Russian will feel guilty for decades because of the terrible and bloody decision that none of us could influence and predict." Soon after he defected and now lives in Berlin. And for anyone still interested, this is an interview the now 23-year old gave in English about growing up in Russia and life as a professional musician. This young man is almost certainly becoming one of the greats.

Thank you for telling us about Chance. I had never heard of it before and many of the boys look stunning.

Fast Track at BKK used to be available to all over 70. That has now stopped, but I have no idea why. In the many times I used those lanes they often had only 1 or 2 passengers maximum at each booth. I am starting to wonder if they are now getting busier as a result of all those many Chinese and Russians who have paid through the nose for the new Thailand Privilege visas.

I believe it has been mentioned quite a few times on this Board that anyone with assets in Thailand must have a Thai will written in Thai. Without that the Court will almost certainly give your assets to your nearest living blood relative wherever based. I realise that @Londoner's assets are in the UK and he probably has litte under his name here. Clearly once over the legal hurdles on his next trip everthing should thereafter run smoothly. But I wonder if he might think it worth considering transferring at least some of his funds to Thailand now and having a Thai will in addition to the UK one. That would, I expect, transfer a small portion of assets to P more quickly than having to wait for the legal process to run its course. Just a thought. Returning to the OP by @TotallyOz and comments by others, sadly lack of concern over distribution of assets even before death can cause much heartache. I have had a Thai business friend here in Thailand for more than 40 years now. One of her close friends whom I had met on several occasions is gay, a lovely man who had been in a relationship with another Thai for decades. Having just reached the age of 80, he called my friend in a state of near hysteria. Overnight his partner had disappeared. All his clothes, many mementos, a bank book with their joint account (thankfully he also had a separate account of his own) and his car had all gone. No note. No thank you. No wishing him good luck. Nothing! Fortunately for him, my friend is a very organised lady. She is originally from Chiang Mai and knew there were inexpensive but very nice elderly care homes just outside the city. She quickly arranged to have her friend placed in one of them. She returns to Chiang Mai at least 4 times a year and aways visits him. She tells me he settled in very easily and he has now found at least a degree of happiness again just enjoying life. The home has minibus trips into Chiang Mai 6 times a day and so he is still able to feel part of a larger community.

I rarely change foreign currency but quite recently I brought in £1,000 cash in £50 notes. I changed it at X One down Suriwong as I had heard the rate was better than many. Today its rate is exactly the same as SuperRich which has a branch by the Saladaeng BTS station which I expect is more convenient for most.