The Beer Bar

A letter from the director: Two days ago, with the stroke of a pen and callous disregard for the safety and well-being of the most vulnerable in our community, Governor Schwarzenegger unilaterally made huge, additional cuts in the state budget, eliminating funding for critical health and human services, including HIV/AIDS education and prevention, medical services, counseling and testing, and much more. In total, the governor used his line-item veto power to slash $52 million just from the state Office of AIDS

This report says that second thoughts are increasingly dominating the discussion. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/27/us/27gay.html?_r=1&hp

If anybody coming to NY is interested in something offbeat on Broadway, consider taking in Ionesco's "Exit the King". It's a chance to see work by an author who doesn't get much play, performed by a first-rate cast. Lots of energy on stage. Incidentally, Geoffrey Rush has a Tony nomination. And nobody will guess who'll be Lady Bracknell this year at Stratford: http://www.stratfordfestival.ca/plays/earnest.cfm

Today is the 40th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11. Countdown and liftoff: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5722827024646179220 From the gantry: Up close with those Saturn V engines: Some of the 40th anniversary activities upcoming: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/200...15/1997425.aspx All that noted, I find it beyond dispiriting to look back at the failures of both imagination and nerve that have befallen the species' spaceflight ambitions since. The enormous dead-end investments in that engineering kluge, the space shuttle, in order to build the white-elephant time- and money-waster, the International Space Station. Which, after produc…

See how many you can answer correctly. 1. When did 'Little Suzie' finally wake up? a. The movie's over, it's 2 o'clock b. The movie's over, it's 3 o'clock c. The movie's over, it's 4 o'clock 2. 'Rock Around The Clock' was used in what movie? a. Rebel Without A Cause b. Blackboard Jungle c. The Wild Ones 3. What's missing?____ _Baby, Earth_____,_ ____On My Shoulder a. Angel b. Head 4. 'I found my thrill...' where? a. Kansas City b. Heartbreak Hotel c) Blueberry Hill 5. 'Please turn on your magic beam, __________ bring me a dream' a. Mr Sandman b. Earth Angel c. Dream Lover 6. For which label did Elvis Presley first record? a. Chancell…

If you would like to watch the full interview, click the following: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/specials/nationvdo/showvdo.php?id=2324&cateid=13

I ought to quit reading things like this. Doctors missing consciousness in vegetative patients 12:47 21 July 2009 by Celeste Biever If there's one thing worse than being in a coma, it's people thinking you are in one when you aren't. Yet a new comparison of methods for detecting consciousness suggests that around 40 per cent of people diagnosed as being in a vegetative state are in fact "minimally conscious". In the worst case scenario, such misdiagnoses could influence the decision to allow a patient to die, even though they have some vestiges of consciousness. But crucially it may deprive patients of treatments to make them more comfortable, more likely to recover, …

I wish I could report more but times are hard in the Land of Smiles. The bars are hurting and because the boys are not getting work, many are headed home to the farm. On 3 recent trips into the street where all the gogo bars are, it was bleak. VERY bleak. Where there use to be a hundred or so guys on stage, there are now 20-30. Still, you will be able to find what you are looking for if you take the time to go from bar to bar but it is the worst I have seen the scene in years. I heard the 5 star hotel occupancy rate hovers around 25 percent. During the airport shutdown, most went to 2-8 percent. The hotels are struggling and the bars are even more so. The Massage …

If you share my fondness for hot guys dressing in Super Hero costumes or just like to look at hot male go go boys please Join me this sunday @ 4 for the anual HARD HEROS festivities at MJ's in Silver Lake. http://www.mjsbar.com/ Hope to see lots of MERmen there!

While their people are living in poverty and starving, the so-called leaders of both countries, of course, live in the lap of luxury. Now they are playing with their new nuclear toys. I wonder how long the people will put up with it all. Where's Madame Defarge when you need her? The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Clinton fears NKorea-Burma nuclear link Writer: AFP Published: 22/07/2009 US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed concerns on Wednesday that North Korea could be sharing nuclear technology with Burma, posing a worrying new threat to regional security. Clinton issued the warning as she arrived in the Thai resort islan…

One rarely sees the rationing of health care discussed in the media with any semblance of reason. Aside from conservative rants and industry attack ads, it's rarely even mentioned. This piece from the Gray Lady touches on most of the important points that must be resolved in the process of rationalizing our health care system. Health Care Rationing Considered

Romanian Mayor's Nazi Uniform Provokes Outrage July 21, 2009 (CNN) -- Jewish organizations called for a Romanian official to resign and face a criminal investigation after he wore a Nazi uniform during a fashion show over the weekend. Radu Mazare, the mayor of the town of Constanta, and his 15-year-old son "entered the stage marching the clearly identifiable Nazi 'goose step,'" the Center for Monitoring and Combating anti-Semitism in Romania said in a letter to the country's prosecutor general. The organization's director, Marco Katz, said Mazare had broken Romanian law and encouraged his son to do the same, "educating him to treat the law with conte…

The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ North Korea Fears Forum Criticism over Missile Tests Writer: THANIDA TANSUBHAPOL and ACHARA ASHAYAGACHAT Published: 22/07/2009 PHUKET : North Korea has called on Thailand to protect its delegates from criticism during the Asean Regional Forum. Pyongyang's ambassador at large Pak Kun-gwang yesterday raised the issue in talks with Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya ahead of tomorrow's security meeting. Mr Pak requested an urgent meeting with the minister shortly after the five North Korean delegates arrived on the resort island yesterday. North Korea is worried its recent missile tests would be condemned…

Spent this weekend in San Diego for Pride.I was very impressed! The rather large parade was fun and the festival was in gorgeous Balboa Park. Not as regimented as SF or WeHo-and the guys were much cuter/more varied than at either of those events. London pride was a lot of fun-but man it was crowded! Next time I go to SD I think I will take the train-the 5/405 were parking lots in both directions.

I realize MER usually leaves all that celebrity memorial b.s. to the other board, but I thought Frank McCourt's passing was worth a mention. Honest and unsentimantal, he introduced me to the fine art of Irish story telling. He's best known for "Angela's Ashes" but "Teacher Man," stories taken from his 30 years as a NYC public school teacher, was my favorite. I can still remember the acute envy I felt at his knack at spinning out humorous tales. Frank McCourt

I've just found this website, looks pretty good, what do you think guys - http://www.gayescortclub.com

The shit will soon hit the fan (& your tv screen). While I doubt the attack ads will tell us much of value about the substance of various proposals, they will be an invaluable guide to whose iron rice bowl is being threatened. Health care industry begins to split on reform bill It wouldn't hurt to occasionally e-mail your congressman this summer. This is one fight we all have a dog in.

All the face time awarded to Lindsey Graham by the TV coverage of the Sotomayor hearings was a constant reminder of the site above. I'm so surprised that it hasn't included his picture among the others. http://menwholooklikeoldlesbians.blogspot.com/search?

NEW YORK (July 17) -- Walter Cronkite, the premier TV anchorman of the networks' golden age who reported a tumultuous time with reassuring authority and came to be called "the most trusted man in America," died Friday. He was 92. Cronkite's longtime chief of staff, Marlene Adler, said Cronkite died at 7:42 p.m. at his Manhattan home surrounded by family. She said the cause of death was cerebral vascular disease. Walter Cronkite, whose long tenure at CBS News made him one of the most trusted and authoritative figures of his era, died on Friday at age 92. CBS vice president Linda Mason said Cronkite died after a long illness with his family by his side. Cronkite is see…

NEW YORK – Walter Cronkite, the premier TV anchorman of the networks' golden age who reported a tumultuous time with reassuring authority and came to be called "the most trusted man in America," died Friday. He was 92. Cronkite's longtime chief of staff, Marlene Adler, said Cronkite died at 7:42 p.m. at his Manhattan home surrounded by family. She said the cause of death was cerebral vascular disease. Adler said, "I have to go now" before breaking down into what sounded like a sob. She said she had no further comment. Cronkite was the face of the "CBS Evening News" from 1962 to 1981, when stories ranged from the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and the Rev…

From the Yahoo news page A German chef trying to emulate the celebrity chef Blumenthal was working on a recipe involving liquid nitrogen when there was "a huge explosion", according to the Berliner Morgenpost. One of the 24-year-old's hands was instantly torn off by the force of the blast, while the other was later amputated in hospital. The explosion happened at his girlfriend's mother's house in Stahnsdorf, near Berlin, where both women escaped without injury. The chef, a follower of "molecular gastronomy", had disappeared into the bathroom with a bottle of liquid nitrogen. He reportedly said afterwards he had been trying to fill a gas lighter but his …

So this is how it's done... It's a very nice house in the country (but not for an orgy) Wealthy guests sipped champagne, but at midnight everything suddenly changed Nestled in the rolling Somerset countryside and surrounded by 17 acres of meticulously kept gardens, Halswell House is the sort of quintessentially English retreat that would make an ideal backdrop for a romantic period drama. It is also a perfect venue if you happen to be a member of a shady European party circle which indulges in the very un-English pastime of mass orgies. Grahame Bond rented out Halswell House to a Dutch company but failed to research their parties Last weekend, employees at the 17th…

One of the musicians that helped make MTV and change the course of the music industry has died in LA. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/...kson/index.html

I will have to get rush tix for this-it should be very interesting! http://www.outfest.org/tixSYS/2009/xslguid...ventNumber=2764 I met Pete a couple of years ago at a party after the 2008 Hookie awards.Sexy,smart and sweet. I was hoping to hire him last week when I was in London but he was busy touring with the film. Outfest always has plenty of films with sexy guys in it Hop

This from today's BBC website A 14-year-old schoolboy from the Isle of Man has died while on holiday in Thailand after being sucked into a swimming pool pumping system. It is thought Nathan Clark opened a metal vent at the bottom of the pool in an attempt to retrieve his goggles. The incident happened in the resort of Pattaya, east of the capital Bangkok. He was holidaying with his father, brother, stepbrother and stepmother. Police are investigating how he opened the vent which should have been locked. The incident happened on Friday at a water park in the resort, which is 85 miles (137km) from Bangkok. A Thai police commander said Nathan was swimm…