Gaybutton

As you can see, there hasn't been any significant changes over the past several days. The above post will be the last on this thread. I will, of course, keep monitoring. If any significant movement occurs, that's when I'll start a new thread.

Ok, that makes more sense to me. It also seems fair. Although mama-sans, waiters, bartenders, doormen, etc. are usually not taken off (although at most bars they can be) apparently the owner is trying to see that some sort of pool is collected to be distributed among the employees who don't get taken off. After all, even some of the go-go boys won't be taken off anyway, so some of them will get nothing out of the promotion unless a pool is started. Apparently the bar owner is also going to rely on the honesty of the boys who do get taken off. I suppose there might be better ways to do it, but based on what Travelerjim is saying, it does seem to me that the bar owner really is trying to do something to help these boys and is in no way trying to use the promotion to line his own pockets. It seems to me he's trying to see that all the boys at least get a little something. If that is correct, then I applaud him for it. It also demonstrates something else: Don't jump to negative conclusions.

Wednesday, May 28: Opening rates: US Dollar: 32.06 Euro: 50.24 British Pound: 63.23 Australian Dollar: 30.6325 Canadian Dollar: 32.1525 _____ Closing rates: US Dollar: 32.05 Euro: 50.335 British Pound: 63.385 Australian Dollar: 30.695 Canadian Dollar: 32.145

Say "karakadakhom" five times, real fast . . .

I don't see any reason why Jim should feel bad. First, so far there has been no confirmation of the accusation other than what a boy told ReneThai. Second, he reported information given to him on a flier. It is entirely possible the boy's information is wrong or he had some reason to lie about it to potentially get more of a tip if he is taken off. It is a very common practice for bars to put out fliers. What were people expecting Jim to do? He had no reason to doubt the veracity of the flier or suspect some sort of a rip-off by the bar's owner. When a flier is given out, are people really expecting Jim, or anyone else, to also have to go to the involved bar and have a little chat with the owner before giving the rest of us the information on the flier?

The results for the popular vote in Burma, the vote that assures military rule virtually forever, are in. Somehow, the results remind me of the results Saddam Hussein used to get in Iraq. The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Unbelievably Popular Rangoon - The Burmese junta claimed on Monday that an extraordinary 92.94 per cent of the survivors of Cyclone Nargis supposedly voted "yes" for a new constitution to perpetuate military rule in the country. State media - there is no other kind in Burma, "reported" that postponed polling in a national referendum was held last Saturday in 47 townships hardest hit by Cyclone Nargis, which slammed into the central coast and biggest city on May 2-3. The cyclone left at least 133,000 dead or missing and about 2.4 million in need of the food, water, shelter and medicines. But they turned out en masse to vote for the junta. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the people living in the cyclone devastated areas have little reason to support the government, which has been blamed for hampering an international disaster relief effort for the storm victims. Since the voting and vote-counting were totally controlled by the military, the polling results are deemed suspicious, if not downright fictitious. The government decision to go ahead with its referendum on May 10, in the wake of the destruction wrought by the cyclone, was one of many complaints the international community voiced against the ruling junta's mismanagement of the disaster relief effort. The vote was delayed in 47 townships hardest hit by the storm, that has affected up to 2.4 million people, especially those living in the former capital of Rangoon and the Irrawaddy delta. According to the government's count, some 92.4 per cent of the populace voted in favour of the charter on May 10. The lead-up to the referendum was marred by a nationwide "vote yes" propaganda campaign by the government, accompanied by intimidation and arrests of opponents to the charter. In February the ruling junta passed a law making it illegal to publicly criticize the new constitution, which will essentially grant the military control over the upper and lower houses in an elected government. The regime has promised to hold an election by 2010. The results of that vote, if it is held, will also support the military junta by a huge percentage. The charter has barred opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from holding office as she was married to a foreign national, the late Michael Aris, an Oxford professor. Authorities on Friday allowed Suu Kyi to cast an "advance vote" at her home, where she has been under house arrest for the past five years. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been under house arrest since May 30, 2003, after authorities charged her with threatening national security after pro-government thugs attacked her and her followers in Depayin, northern Burma, killing 70 Suu Kyi supporters. Suu Kyi is kept incommunicado in her family home and has been unable to comment publicly on the cyclone devastation or the junta's response to it. According to Burmese law, the government cannot keep prisoners charged with undermining national security under detention for more than five years. Although Suu Kyi's detention period will reach five years on Tuesday, it is widely anticipated that the ruling junta will find an excuse for extending it further. The government has come under harsh international criticism for impeding an international disaster relief effort for the victims of Cyclone Nargis, and for going ahead with the self-serving referendum despite the catastrophe. (dpa)

After a drink or two, I can already see I'm going to have a big problem with the abbreviations for January and March . . . Anyway, thank you very much Fountainhall and Bob. That chart gets printed out and a definite place in both my wallet and on a laminated card that's going to be with me constantly.

Tuesday, May 27: Opening rates: US Dollar: 32.10 Euro: 50.61 British Pound: 63.535 Australian Dollar: 30.735 Canadian Dollar: 32.2925 _____ Closing rates: US Dollar: 32.12 Euro: 50.53 British Pound: 63.455 Australian Dollar: 30.66 Canadian Dollar: 32.2275

Many people feel the same as you do. Personally, I love when that happens. I have yet to ever feel uncomfortable about it. Of course, these past couple of years several of the bars have been like that even during high season. It's been rough on the bars and even rougher on the boys.

This season is about the lowest I've ever seen it. That's to your advantage, though. You won't have much competition when it comes to availability of the boys you like.

Well, maybe I should have written BM problems. Without a bowl of prunes, at my age that's bound to happen too . . .

I think these sorts of promotions are excellent ideas and do a good job of bringing in more customers, at least temporarily. Those of you who have been around long enough may remember the old Moonlight Bar on Second Road. Quite often they would hold raffles and the winner would get a free off. If I remember correctly, the raffle tickets sold for 20 baht apiece and you could buy as many of them as you pleased. The boys are suffering from this very low season even more than usual. More and more are showing up at the beach, hoping to hook up with a farang, showing up on the gay Thai hookup web sites, and lately I've been getting three to five calls a day from boys I know, hoping I'll be "available" that day. Believe it or not I just now got a call, right in the middle of writing this. The more the bar owners take an interest in doing something that can help out their boys, along with helping themselves, the better I like it and the better it is for all concerned.

That's very good to know and I certainly appreciate the information. Assuming it can be done in my area, that's just what I'm going to do. Once I get around to setting it up, I'll post about it.

Which bank does that? Have you ever had a problem with them taking out the wrong amount? If yes, how much was taken in error and how was the problem resolved? That's something, at least, but I'd rather have a system by which I'm in control. I'd at least like to know how much the bill is before funds are drawn from my account.

Both Bank of Ayudhya and Siam Commercial allow payments to True Move. While I'm at it I guess I should explain that the Thai online banking systems, no matter which bank, have sets of customers to whom online payments can be made. It's not like the American system, in which you can use online banking to pay virtually anybody or any business. The Thai banks have a list of clients. Once you are online you select your payees from a drop-down list. Different banks have different payees available. Maybe someone can help me with some information. I'm trying to figure out if the water bill and electric bill, in Pattaya, can be paid online. I haven't spotted anything that looks like a water bill payee. For electric, I've seen Metropolitan Electric Company, but I believe that's the electric company in Bangkok, not in Pattaya. Does anyone know? If either or both Pattaya bills can be paid online at one of the banks, I want to open an account, especially for the electric bill. When you receive your electric bill, they give you 8 days to pay it. If it hasn't been paid by then, they're out there the next day cutting off your electricity. Then you have to jump through several hoops to get it turned back on. Usually, that's no problem, but there have been times when I was traveling when the electric bill arrived and by the time I got back, the electricity had been cut. A major pain-in-the-ass. If the bill can be paid online, I can always get a neighbor to give me my billing information. I wonder if there's a way to receive the electric bill online or at least check it online.

Monday, May 26: Opening rates: US Dollar: 31.92 Euro: 50.29 British Pound: 63.19 Australian Dollar: 30.5025 Canadian Dollar: 32.16 _____ Closing rates: US Dollar: 31.95 Euro: 50.305 British Pound: 63.16 Australian Dollar: 30.565 Canadian Dollar: 32.21

I don't think anyone is knocking the enthusiasm. I think they're knocking the means by which that enthusiasm is expressed. In all honesty, the way this has been advertised I would have walked in expecting to see a production on par with something Bob Fosse or Harold Prince would have come up with. That's not what it was, and we are being told that if anything more than what actually took place was expected, then we just don't understand what community theater is supposed to be all about. Ok, I'll bite. What is community theater supposed to be all about? What should people expect? If I sit down to a production expecting far more than is delivered, then I leave greatly disappointed if my expectations aren't met. On the other hand, if I know in advance what to expect, and that's what I get, then I leave perfectly satisfied. Rather than being told that I don't understand community theater, or that the sought-after audience does not consist of the expat gay community here, and leaving it at that, then educate me. Obviously I don't have a clue what to expect and apparently many others are just as clueless. At this moment, all I know is people keep telling me if Max Bialystock had selected and staged the plays used in this first production as they were presented, then his scheme just might have worked. I truly have no idea what to expect from community theater.

Ok, so it's an old map. The rest of it is accurate. If you want to make a better map, go right ahead.

Many people have been asking where Cherry's Restaurant is. I'm not very good at this, but I made a little home-made map that I hope will help you find it. Look toward the top right of the map.

"I'd rather be a failure at something I love than a success at something I hate." - George Burns

Technically you are absolutely right. On a practical basis, the law might as well say that prostitution above age 18 is perfectly legal. To my knowledge, there has never been an arrest for prostitution involving age 18 and over in the entire modern history of Thailand. Regarding the penalties, as far as I can tell, the younger the harsher. I wouldn't want to spend one day in a Thai prison, let alone years. Then, once you are released, you get deported and blacklisted, and in several western countries you then get to stand trial and be penalized all over again. One of the things on my "I Don't Get It" list is why the pedophiles go after boys that young in the first place. There are so many Thai boys who are 18 years old, and can prove it, but look much younger. If the issue is whether they have reached puberty, many of them shave that area or would be perfectly willing to do so. The majority of them shave their armpits too. It seems to me the pedophiles can easily get the look they desire. Along with just a touch of imagination, they could get what they're after without any risk at all. But noooooooo. They've got to go after the boys who are truly under-age. I wonder what those who have been arrested would say now if they were asked whether they would do it again.

Actually, I already pointed this out in another thread, but the boy may not be 16. According to the PATTAYA DAILY NEWS. he's 15. See: http://www.pattayadailynews.com/shownews.p...NEWS=0000006081 I have a feeling the boy is more likely to be 15 than 16, but either way, you put it into the perfect nutshell when you said "perhaps not." It doesn't matter whether the police have previously shown concern for the "buffer" age group or not because they can get zealous about it any time they please. Since there is currently quite a bit of publicity about these sorts of arrests, then people better assume the police are highly zealous for the time being. The issue is so simple: You are placing yourself at serious risk unless the boy is at least 18 years old. If the boy is 17 years and 364 days old, you're at risk. I'd add a day to it if it happens to be a leap year. There is only one way to be assured of safety and that is to do exactly what you always do. Check the boy's ID carefully and make damned sure the ID card is actually his. If you don't know how to check or you can't tell whether the picture on the ID card is really him, then have your hotel check for you. Do not . . . repeat, do not trust what a bar's mama-san tells you. If the boy comes up with some excuse for not having his ID card, then don't take him. The current Thai year is 2551. The boy hasn't reached age 18 unless his birth year is 2533 or more. For those who don't know this little trick, there is the "543 Rule." Subtract 543 from the Thai year and you'll have the western calendar year. 2551-543=2008. If the boy is 18, then he was born in 1990. 1990+543=2533.

A group of six of us gave the new location a try. Cherry's gets a 'thumbs up' from all of us. The food and presentation is still superb. The menu is exactly the same. Now there is much more seating, along with a separate dining room. The salad bar is now in the center of the restaurant and there are several more selections now. The wine selection is more extensive. What appears to be an outdoor seating area is under construction. To answer the parking question, there is room for about eight cars, directly in front of the restaurant. Even though it is low season, I recommend reservations. We arrived shortly after 7:00 PM. Despite about double the number of tables now, by 7:45 there were only two unoccupied tables left. The number for reservations is: 086-314-5819.

I don't know. What I do know is that in every recent instance it has been male farang arrested for sex with under-age boys. I don't remember ever seeing a news article about a male or female farang being arrested in Thailand for sex with under-age girls. Does that mean it's never happened or it goes unreported? I have no idea.

You know that to be true. I know that to be true. Probably everyone else also knows that to be true. What you say makes perfect sense and is absolutely logical. That's why I fully agree with your prediction that it will never happen . . .