TownsendPLocke

Boy NYTomCat do you have it COMPLETELY wrong! THE POSTERS are the ones who make these sites what they are.Totaly Oz would be the first to tell you this.Unfortunately the fella over at "the other site"would not tell you this ever.That is why I left there(on my own btw)and have never posted there again. Please note there has not been a single thank you to anyone from this fella posted on his site.That speaks volumes IMO and should tell you all you need to know about his true personality. And as Lucky has noted-HE(Lucky) was the one that started this tradition.I was there at the start but just as a guest.We had a very nice group back then.I am glad it has grown over the years. For my part I just kept looking past the fella from the other site to keep things civil-second year in a row that I have had to do this.This is extremely dificult since he has a bombastic,know everything,loud manner which I find grating. Totally Oz would not want me telling you this-but it was he who held out the olive branch to the other guy.And he had to push a bit to get to a civil point of understanding.My witnessing this exchange told me all I needed to know about two very different people-and made me feel very comfortable choosing to be a member of this site rather that "The other site"

Speaking of Marriott-and Marriott Rewards membership! http://travel.usatoday.com/hotels/post/2011/03/marriott-reward-ex-journalist-ran-prostitution-ring-collected-loyalty-points/148907/1?csp=Travel#uslPageReturn

Speaking of Marriott Elites... It is VERY expensive for a Marriott property to"walk" an elite member to another hotel.This is from their website/ "The Ultimate Reservation Guarantee: To be eligible, Member's Rewards Program Membership Number and a valid credit card number must be included with the reservation. If hotel is unable to honor the reservation, it will pay for comparable accommodations nearby for the Elite Member that night, and compensate the Member for the inconvenience. Compensation varies by lodging brand, as specified below: At JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts, EDITION Hotels, Autograph Collection, Renaissance Hotels, Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Marriott Conference Centers, and Marriott Vacation Club: Alternative accommodations, plus $200 USD and 2 free room certificates. At Courtyard by Marriott, Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott, SpringHill Suites by Marriott, Residence Inn by Marriott, and TownePlace Suites by Marriott: Alternative accommodations, plus $100 USD. (Platinum Elite Members also receive 2 free room certificates.)" So if an elite gets "walked" because a property is oversold he gets(in the case of a full service property)Accomadations at another hotel,$200 cash and 2 nights at ANY MI property in the world! I pray to be walked from a MI property-but it has never happened

Yes=this is the 27th thread about the Palm Springs weekend. I want to thank Oliver,Lucky,Lucky's partner,Jason,Epigonos for a great weekend. These ARE the folks who worked to making it a great weekend. And now I would like to tell you about a person who had nothing to do with the weekend except show up. I want it to be common knowledge on MER(because I doubt it will ever be disclosed on "the other site") that the guy who runs"the other site"had absolutely NOTHING to do with any part of the planning or hosting of the Palm Springs weekend. In fact he was actully the fully sponsored guest of one of the regular posters on "The Other Site" That is correct-some poor misguided soul paid for the trasportation and lodging=and who knows what else- for the fella many others are saying"thank you for,,,,"in other threads and on the other site. There has been(and I doubt there ever will be) any sort of acknowledgement of this-let alone any note of grattitude from the recipient of this charity. This fella was for me at least an unwelcome intruder. If any of the 'scorts want to learn how to be a freeloading charity case while pretending to be a big shot then THAT is the lesson to thank him for. Now hopefully he can get someone to donate enough cash to get that disgusting skirt dry cleaned

I was EXTREMELY dissapointed not to have met Roman at the party.Also Tyger looks totally different from the last time I met him and thus did not recognize him-he is getting hotter as the years pass If I might sugget name tags for next years event? I will be happy to provide them and place them on fellas

You were missed at the event lurkerspeaks-but glad to see you are keeping busy

It was a real pleasure to meet Dane.This young man is a treasure-polite,well spoken and sexy hot!I hope to have a chance to get to know him better. Dane please forgive some of the rude opinions above. Unfortunately it is inherant in the nature of IBB's that you will get a few cranky folks. Trust me when I tell you that this is the exception to the rule here at MER.

I am so glad that so many of you are "in the know"when it comes to the awards This is also about a party(actually a series of parties) that celebrates those who work in the field which this site concerns itself with. http://blogs.villagevoice.com/dailymusto/2011/03/the_hookie_awar.php#

Yes-unfortuantly real life interceded and my "legend"guest had to deal with it instead of frollicing in the partial sun. It was a fun time and I am glad I attended. I was on the brink of cancelling but I am happy I did not. Thanks again to the organizers.

In a skinny moment and without regret. These elite"forces" as they are called are rarely last minute-most require a 24-48 hour window but exceptions are made for very good customers. it sucks for the priceliner/package tourist/Kettle but loyal customers should be served first. BTW- these "forces"are usually available only at rack rate only-so it is not a cheap option

A big thank you to Oliver,Lucky and Epiqonos for orchastrating a wonderful dinner party at a great location. Palm springs is packed this weekend-we were fortunate to have had this at such a popular place

Here are the results of this year's Hokkies awards! http://blog.rentboy.com/ The party sounds like it was a lot of fun-wish I could have been there!

So glad I saw this in London-it was fantastic. It should have never gone to Broadway It should have been put into Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.It would have run for ten years! They decided to prop up that snorebore from Canada

The Office had it's (very)"soft"opening this weekend. I peeked in around 8 last night. The staff is eager and attractive. The bartender was friendly. The decor is a work in progress I am guessing. I am guessing they are going for a bar that serves food rather than a ful service restaurant. As they are still working it out I will not be posting a full review till they are officially open-however one ominous observation- a female manager This was one of my bitches with the last team that ran it into the ground.

Just got an invite for the grand opening of a new Bar on SMB in WeHo The Office. It is opening in the space last occupied by Numbers(or Digits whatever they were calling it before it folded for the third time in five years)above The Gym-which used to be The Normandie Room. Opening is slated for the end of March. It looks to be a very hookup friendly management team. I will be filing a report here on MER of course!

Here is a VERY good rundown on the pluses and minuses of the big hotel chains loyalty programs. http://travelsort.com/blog/comparing-top-tier-hotel-status-benefits

Just got this cleared on my schedule. I will be attending the dinner(not the show)and pool party with two friends one of whom is a bit of a legend around these parts -don't ask cause I aint tellin'

I bought this for my boss's PC. It does take a it of learning but works pretty well.I would give it a 7 out of 10 for usefulness. Now as a side note-a bit of a headache in my world. She now wants to go Mac and does not have any idea the work that is going to be involved transfering all of our files over from her 2 PC's and one lappie into an apple system. Not only that but my lappie is used for research and then I transfer Data to one of her PC's.I ave no interest in anything from the cult of Jobs except perhaps aN Ipad. Ughhhh!

I went to Mission 261 in San Gabriel for lunch today in honor of the day. I don't know why they looked at me so strangely when I wished them "Go Blow Fat Boy" maybe something got lost in translation?

I really enjoyed his radio programs.He will be missed. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/30/arts/music/30taylor.html

"I am not sure how the transit/metro/Train system works in Prague, in terms of making money, as it was free for us," Whooooops! The Metro in Prague works on an honor/open ticket system-like the one on LA You are supposed to buy a valid ticket before bording.There are no turnstiles or fare collectors. HOWEVER you can be busted/fined if a transit cop ask you for your ticket and you do not have a valid ticket. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_Metro

Thanks for the trip report TomCal-I am hoping to get some pointers from you next time we meet.

Never mind

Just a heads up that I have made plans for a Trip to these two cities for the upcoming summer season and that I will be using this space as a running diary of my trip. This will be my first trip to both Paris and Prague.I was very fortunate to book my Airfare using Delta SkyPesos at an ok(not great but ok)cost of 150k skypesos for a Buisness seat on Air France,Czech Air and Delta.It is a real shame that Czech Air no longer flies into the US as that would have been much nicer than Delta in biz class. I will be staying at the Hyatt in Paris and the Sheraton in Prague using my points in those programs.I am hoping the Sheraton is not to fussy about my having guests up to my room I will be picking the brain of my good friend Tomcal as well as welcoming any advice any other MERmen.

Thanks Scorpio. Done and Done!