unicorn

We can usually find a friend who'll stay at our place to house/dog sit. Worst-case scenario is that our vet has boarding facilities, if we reserve in advance. We've only needed to do that once. Strangely enough, our Frenchie loves the experience, but the Labrakita does not. (Yes, we do compensate the friends) The most commonly-used friend is "Lindoro," discussed in prior strings.

Funny that you say that! My husband actually does have a Frenchie from a prior relationship (a scoundrel who conned people out of their money and is now serving time in federal prison for fraud). More to my personality, I have a street rescue mutt. She looks and behaves like a half black labrador/half akita. Maybe a blakita. Here we are walking the dogs in Runyon Canyon Park.

Yes, they sent a thank-you text. I was trying to impress with fancy food (and wine), not with fancy place settings. Casual but caring is how I like to think of it (after all, they were wearing T-shirts and shorts). They seemed pleased, and my husband and I certainly were pleased, with how the evening went. I was also worried that the conversation would be more one-sided, but it was a genuine, caring give and take. There's another famous person that I've had over (not with lobster), and my husband isn't interested in seeing him again because he spent the whole evening talking about himself. He did come to one of our recent parties (June), and I tried to help him along by advising him "Ask my husband how our Danube trip last month went." Unfortunately, this socially awkward man actually went up to my husband later and said "Unicorn asked me to ask you about your latest trip"! Oh, well. 🫠

The meal wasn't over at the time the photo was taken. Part of one lobster tail was uneaten, and was given to one of our actual doggies. We didn't serve gravy with the lobster, but there were dipping bowls with seasoned melted butter. There were flowers behind the table (behind myself, who took that photo). As you can see, the meal was casual (albeit extra tasty). No one (but my hubbie) was dressed to impress. I'd rather impress my friends with how I take care of them than with external appearances. They said they looked forward to getting together again.

😜

My husband and I were honored to have Jason and his domestic partner over for dinner at our place tonight. He was surprisingly humble and happy to meet this fan! My husband told him what a big fan I was of his, and his beau reminded him that he does indeed have a big fan base. We got to know each other better over our twin lobster tail meals. They said they'd love to do this again. One of the most thrilling nights of my life! 😀

It looks as though there's still a website which mocks anti-vaxxers: https://www.reddit.com/r/HermanCainAward/

https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/08/19/brent-jindra-voted-for-trump-three-times-then-ice-handcuffed-his-russian-wife-at-the-airport-in-california-and-ended-his-support-for-the-president "Brent Jindra voted for Trump three times. Then ICE handcuffed his Russian wife at the airport in California and ended his support for the president... In mid-July, officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained a Russian citizen, Galina Bobreneva, in California. She arrived in the country in late 2021 and, according to her lawyer, has been in the United States legally ever since. She is awaiting a green card based on her marriage to a U.S. citizen. ICE officers sent her to a detention center anyway, where she spent more than two weeks... About 18 hours later, Bobreneva was put in a restraint belt and shackled at the wrists and ankles, and driven with several other detainees to the detention center in Adelanto. “I felt like a piece of meat, not like a human,” she said. The conditions there were appalling, Bobreneva said. The center had seven shower stalls for 120 people, and only four of them worked. Detainees were constantly short of drinking water. The sick were denied medical care until they needed hospitalization. Bobreneva also began losing sleep: the lights never went off, and the guards’ radios never went quiet... Jindra, who once called himself a MAGA supporter, grew disillusioned with Trump after his wife was detained...". It's all fun and games until you're personally affected, isn't it? 😉 My sister used to subscribe to a website, which in 2021 would report on deaths of COVID vaccine deniers who succumbed to their own ignorance. I think the website was called "Bye, bye, denier," or something like that. That was one of her secret pleasures...

https://people.com/hayden-panettiere-suffered-apparent-overdose-was-unresponsive-as-advanced-life-support-was-administered-before-death-12061106?campaign=19434941&did=25423214-20260817&hid=089247988732f9a900151e1f8c73f2c531df3c3a&lctg=089247988732f9a900151e1f8c73f2c531df3c3a&lr_input=3911d0b923e8d92c50f8b74007080afa59d66697825b8a1e414be8db883b8062 "New details have been revealed about the last moments of Hayden Panettiere’s life. Police officers and EMS personnel responded to reports of an “unresponsive female,” later identified as 36-year-old Panettiere, at a residence in Greenville, South Carolina, at around 1:51 p.m. local time on Sunday, Aug. 16, the Greenville Police Department previously confirmed to PEOPLE. According to dispatch audio obtained by PEOPLE, officials were heard discussing an “overdose” and “cardiac arrest” around the time of Panettiere’s death. The Greenville Police Department and Greenville County Coroner’s Office are leading the investigation into her death...".

Spoken like a genuine and timeless man. 😉 And you're right--T&T sure showed what matters to them.

Update: he apologized for not showing up, saying that a film festival he was involved in ran late. He has accepted our invitation for dinner sometime (no date set).

In case any of you were wondering, Jason Caceres did NOT show up for the pool party. But we still had about 100 show up, and it was fun anyway...

The best part of being gay is being part of a wonderful, mostly loving community. The LGBTQ community is a great place for support--at least in many countries (including South Africa). The worst part is having to listen to stupid comments by ignorant (often religious) people. Being a member of the LBGTQ community opens up a lot of options, especially, but certainly not only, when you're 24. Welcome!

Almost all studies of homosexuality, especially male homosexuality, suggest that sexual orientation develops by infancy--probably in the womb. While we all know plenty of gay men who've simply come out late in life, most will admit that they were simply playing the straight role earlier due to societal pressures. Indeed, most gay people knew they were somehow "different" from early childhood, as do their classmates. I've never met anyone who truly had the hots for women in his youth, then something switched and he developed the hots for men. I suspect that my homophobic father-in-law is one of those who's been playing the straight role due to societal pressure.

The lesbian sexual orientation hasn't been as well studied, from my understanding.

Here's a great video which scientifically explains the important role of LGBTQ in society and human development/success:

Well, they're a place to start. Like Wikipedia, as secondary sources, they can be wrong. AI inquiries usually provide the references from which they obtain their answers, so you can always click on those links if in doubt, in order to assess the strength of the evidence. One thing that AI doesn't do, you're correct, is to disclose the strength of the evidence it provides. Although definitely not correct 100% of the time, AI is a good place to start a search for information.

Simple enough to copy and paste the question to AI. It clearly also says "AI Overview" at the top to my post. The intention is to show the OP how easy it is to get answers to factual questions these days. Now, questions of opinions, suggestions, habits, and so on, are a different matter.

While I agree that not all discrimination rises to the level of persecution, all persecution ultimately stems from discrimination. If a particular demographic group cannot, as a matter of practice, reasonably live in his country, he's being persecuted. While a visitor might be able to get away with indiscretions in homophobic countries (though risking serious punishment), that's quite a different story if one is a citizen of that country, can't hold down a job, and risks being arrested and thrown to prison or even killed. Likewise in Jamaica, where gay men have been known to be burned alive by locals, with authorities turning a blind eye. I think it's somewhat insane to go on sex trips to highly homophobic countries. Jamaica is the most homophobic country in the Western Hemisphere, though obviously there are a lot of countries in the Eastern Hemisphere which are worse--such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and Uganda. Why risk imprisonment and death in Jamaica when you can go to nearby Dominican Republic? The fact that stupid tourists have lived to tell the tale doesn't make the situation for those who have to live there.

AI Overview Men4Men, best known in the US as a pioneering directory and chat community for gay and bisexual men, was significantly restructured and transitioned away from its original commercial dating/cruising format. [1] Its original online personals and directory domains were acquired in 2021 by VS Media and officially donated to the Los Angeles LGBT Center. [1] Here is what happened to the platform and the broader M4M online space: Site Transition: The Center repurposed the Men4Men domain and its digital properties into an educational and community health resource for gay, bi, and other men who have sex with men (MSM). [1, 2, 3] Focus on Health and Well-Being: Today, resources under the Men4Men banner emphasize sexual health education, HIV prevention, and specialized clinical support groups. [1] The Death of Craigslist Personals: The closure of classic classified hubs like Men4Men also coincides with the shutdown of Craigslist Personals in the US. The platform's operators cited the passage of the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) in 2018 as the primary reason for permanently closing all casual encounter and personals boards to avoid legal liability. [1, 2] Where Users Go Today: With dedicated web-based personals gone, users seeking localized M4M connections in Los Angeles and the rest of the US have migrated to app-based platforms like Grindr, Scruff, or alternative classified-style sites like Doublelist, as noted by community consensus on Quora. [1]

There's a massive, massive, massive difference between simply being discriminated against (which, as you said, happens to everyone), and being thrown in jail or even killed because of whom you love--private activity between consenting adults. As shown on the map, those in the orange and brown don't just face "discrimination," but serious prison time and even death. I can't believe anyone would fail to see such a huge difference. Let me tell you--prison in those orange/brown countries is a fate worse than death, for the most part. This doesn't even include countries in which the murder of gays will often if not usually never be investigated by legal authorities (such Jamaica, Russia, and Uganda). Only in the yellow countries are laws against the LGBT community not enforced with prison sentences (Guyana, South Sudan, Pakistan, and Myanmar). It shocks me to hear a gay person have no understanding of the life-threatening hardships faced by the LGBT community, many in Africa. These hardships are far greater than just being fired from a job for being LGBT (though that's bad enough). Another charity which I support is the Rainbow Railroad, which helps members of the LGBT community relocate to one of the blue countries (most commonly Canada, these days). https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/474896980#beacon-report

Well, I asked AI for the answer to my last question: Ceuta is the primary target for Moroccan migrants because its geography allows them to swim around the border fence via a short, accessible maritime route, whereas reaching Melilla requires scaling highly dangerous 19-foot razor-wire land fences. [1, 2, 3] While migrants do attempt to breach both Spanish enclaves, the overwhelming discrepancy seen in recent migration surges comes down to distinct physical, structural, and geopolitical factors. [1, 2, 3, 4] 1. Geography and Method of Entry Swimming vs. Climbing: To enter Ceuta, migrants frequently swim just 3 miles (5 km) from the neighboring Moroccan town of Fnideq around the Tarajal and Benzú sea breakwaters. [1, 2] The Melilla Land Barrier: Melilla is heavily fortified by a triple-layer, 19-foot (6-meter) land fence topped with razor wire. Trying to cross this requires scaling the structure en masse, which historically leads to high-fatality stampedes and severe clashes with border police. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] 2. Legal Exploitation and Social Media Rumors The Sea-Arrival Loophole: A recent Spanish Supreme Court ruling decreed that migrants intercepted at sea cannot be summarily returned without due process. [1, 2] The Viral Effect: Human trafficking networks and social media platforms widely amplified this ruling, heavily misinterpreting it to imply that anyone who swam into Spanish territory could remain. Because Ceuta is heavily associated with maritime entry (swimming), it became the viral focal point for the massive surge. [1, 2, 3] 3. Tactical Policing Discrepancies Moroccan Border Controls: Sudden surges in Ceuta often correlate with localized breakdowns or strategic relaxations in Moroccan border policing. Eyewitness accounts and analysts frequently note that Moroccan security forces occasionally look the other way or wave crowds through toward Ceuta's beaches during diplomatic friction between Madrid and Rabat. [1, 2, 3] Melilla Clashes: Conversely, the land borders around Melilla are heavily guarded on the Moroccan side in towns like Bni Nsar, where recent attempted crossings were met with immediate, aggressive police resistance, resulting in riots and arrests before migrants could even reach the fence

Well, what would be fair to say is that most are probably not refugees. Some are. One might guess that some, for instance, might be escaping persecution due to being gay. The brown/orange/yellow countries on this map have laws forbidding LGBTQ activity, or even expression: There are even areas south of the Sahara in which the death penalty can apply (dark brown). Some 25 years ago, I helped my boyfriend get asylum from the Russian Federation (he came in on a student work visa, but had experienced harassment in Russia, even having chemicals thrown in his face). [Dark blue have same-sex marriage, light blue have domestic partnerships, gray have neither protections nor prosecutions for the LGBTQ community]. The influx started immediately after the Spanish Supreme Court ruled that anyone coming in by sea had to be (eventually) be offered a hearing in order to determine whether or not they've suffered true persecution. I guess they should have left out their exclaves in Africa (Ceuta and Melilla). Anyone who can windsurf across the Straits of Gibraltar (or survive the 16 km swim with only mask/fins/snorkel) probably deserves a hearing. Just swimming around the fences of the enclaves probably shouldn't qualify. It's interesting that I haven't heard of many making the swim to Melilla. I've never been to Melilla, so I don't know the situation there.