Lucky

Interesting to note the different looks that Jesus Luz (Mr. Jesus Madonna) can come up with: http://beat.bodoglife.com/wp-content/uploa...08/12/jesus.jpg

I should concede that Brazil has some of the hottestmen- witness Madonna's new boyfriend- and, it isn't A-Rod! http://www.towleroad.com/images/2009/02/09/madonna1.jpg

The idea that only certain places have the most beautiful boys sounds provincial. Sure, if you go to a mega-event such as Carnaval in Rio, Queensday in Amsterdam, Mardi Gras, etc. you will be overwhelmed by the beauty at hand. But that is because guys from all over the region travel to those events. The days after it is over, the landscape returns to normal. And normal means that there are beautiful boys wherever you go. You just have to look for them harder sometimes. I still have a picture of one of the most beautiful boys I have ever seen. He was selling trinkets at a roadstop near the Cambodian border. For a whole dollar, I got a carved wooden mask, and a photo that has lasted a lifetime!

We had a great time, Townie. Your absence was noticed, but I just told people that you were at a paper convention.

When I was a boy, if I ate meat on Friday, I was certain to go to hell. That is, unless my local priest forgave my sin at confession. Nowadays eating meat on Friday carries no eternal damnation, although heart risks must still be considered. I've always felt sorry for those who chewed before the rule changed. I also thought that if I made communion of the first five Fridays of the month, I would be guaranteed a priest at my death. With the new priest shortage, I wondered if that was still true, so I googled it. Here's what I found- I was wrong! Nine First Fridays Devotion to the Sacred Heart From the writings of St. Margaret Mary: "On Friday during Holy Communion, He said these words to His unworthy slave, if I mistake not: I promise you in the excessive mercy of my Heart that its all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on nine first Fridays of consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they will not die under my displeasure or without receiving their sacraments, my divine Heart making itself their assured refuge at the last moment." With regard to this promise it may be remarked: (1) that our Lord required Communion to be received on a particular day chosen by Him; (2) that the nine Fridays must be consecutive; (3) that they must be made in honor of His Sacred Heart, which means that those who make the nine Fridays must practice the devotion and must have a great love for our Lord; (4) that our Lord does not say that those who make the nine Fridays will be dispensed from any of their obligations or from exercising the vigilance necessary to lead a good life and overcome temptation; rather He implicitly promises abundant graces to those who make the nine Fridays to help them to carry out these obligations and persevere to the end; (5) that perseverance in receiving Holy Communion for nine consecutive First Firdays helps the faithful to acquire the habit of frequent Communion, which our Lord eagerly desires; and (6) that the practice of the nine Fridays is very pleasing to our Lord since He promises such great reward, and that all Catholics should endeavor to make the nine Fridays. Prayer Source: Enthronment of the Sacred Heart by Rev. Francis Larkin, SS.CC., St. Paul Editions, 1978 All of this came up today when the NY Times announced that the church was again offering plenary indulgences- making Catholics one step closer to heaven by receiving one from the local church. Except that only one church in New York is offering them. That doesn't sound fair to those who go to other churches. You can read it about it yourself: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/nyregion...ulgence.html?hp So, things are different now, yet they are coming full circle. I may not be able to eat meat on Fridays in the future. I took this very seriously as a boy, and many people still do now. My mom, for example. But even she refers to my partner as my "boyfriend"- something it took her a long time to do. My guess is that efforts to offer an easier salvation will appeal to those who want the easy route in any other part of their lives, and those who genuinely believe that good works get you to heaven will keep doing them, regardless of the return of indulgences. I know there is no religion forum here, but I just thought it was an interesting turn of events.

It's a sign of the times. Young guys seem to carry sex pix on their cell phones, so we saw certain persons dick photos, ass photos, another of one sucking himself, etc. Yes, too be young today is a different thing!

What Raul overlooked was the LOW temperature in Chicago- it was 27 degrees! More than 20 degrees higher here. And well, today is already sunny and getting warm, with 9 escorts vying to see who has the biggest dick!

kennethinthe212.com has a funny cl listing of his own: http://www.kennethinthe212.com/search?q=%2...+connections%22

Even in LA, the two gay rags, In and Frontiers, are consolidating into one.

Maybe the boys are for real, as they have new ads up today.

Yes, indeed, the rain is trickling down, scheduled to end tonight. What that means is that the mountains will be lovely and covered in snow tomorrow so that the boys can sit in the pool and enjoy the view. Tonight we will be inside enjoying camaraderie and Damn Yankees. So yes, damn the rain, but it will make the sun all the more welcome. Of course, the reason that I put the shine on this is that I was the one who moved the weekend up 2 weeks. Otherwise, we would be seeing The Night of the Iguana- I'll pick the Yankees rain or shine. We'll miss you, Raul. But I know we'll be seeing you soon.

So I'll bet you were thinking I was going to mention something else happening in Palm Springs this weekend, but instead I had my mind on the erotic services section of craigslist. Palm Springs is not known for its youthful selection of escorts, so this listing on craigslist stood out: http://palmsprings.craigslist.org/ers/1019643066.html Now one would be careful hiring any escort who looked 16, especially if you wanted to keep your MySpace listing. But these kids have one more caveat in their ad- i'll let you find it for yourself. When you are on the page, note that each kid also has his own individual listing with a bigger picture, well, except for the one who stayed home. He was probably grounded this weekend. You can save yourself a lot of time and skip the 18 year olds, because there is another listing for Palm Springs this weekend that would make me forget all about them: http://palmsprings.craigslist.org/ers/1023768200.html

No one told me how MySpace knew it had 90,000 registered sex offenders as members. If they can figure it out, so can this site. So, how many here? No, I am not asking that they be banned. I agree that the sex offender label is applied too liberally and has been turned into a social stigmatizing issue rather than a real effort to help police with crime enforcement. It's a shame when someone who clearly is never going to commit a sex crime is forced to register because of some technicality.

Greg prefers the Seattle look: http://www.daddysreviews.com/images/greg_s...le_20081103.jpg

Gee. So few responses- and here I was thinking the post might make me a new friend!

At the Folsom Street fair last year, I took quite a bit of video, as there were many interesting (and odd) things to see. My brother edited it and put it to music. It's now 14 minutes long. I can email it to anyone interested as it is on a FLIP camera.

I've rarely found gay restaurants to be worth the dough. Numbers in West Hollywood is one of my least favorites, even after the latest attempts to change. Sure, I like looking at cute waiters, but at Numbers they are not very good waiters, and the food is barely edible.

Shrock won the Huffingtonn Post contest with 34% of the vote. http://images.huffingtonpost.com/gadgets/s...15783_large.jpg

Well, you've got me there. Studying history reveals that men have always been flawed. I guess that I miss the youthful days when I could look up to the church and the government as the institutions I was taught that they were. Those teachings were more fantasy than reality. But, even now, I am still surprised when I hear stories of the hypocrisy of religious and government leaders. I know people who have values. What happens to them when they become leaders that they cannot maintain those values? Is it so impossible to have power and use it wisely, not to mention fairly? What makes a man tell others to lead lives that he himself cannot live?

Just as the Vatican is demanding that the recently un-excommunicated bishop who denies the Holocaust recant his views, it is being revealed that one of the most conservative Catholics ever led a double life. Marcial Maciel Degollado was the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, a religious order that was acclaimed by Pope John Paul II. Before he died a year ago, the new pope, Benedict XVI, forced him to leave public ministry because of accusations that he had sexually abused more than a dozen men when they were his students. But that was apparently only part of it, as now it is being revealed that the priest, who died at 87, had an affair with a woman too, and she was the mother of their daughter. The order had a very strict interpretation of Catholicism, so the new revelations are quite shocking to his followers. More information can be found in the NY Times article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/04/us/04leg...ref=todayspaper For me, I wonder if there are any institutions left in which one can place some level of faith, or at least confidence. Obama is having trouble finding an honest man. People are looking for sources of strength in their lives, and if a guy who held the most conservative of religious views couldn't live an honest life,, what hope is there for the rest of us mere mortals?

Lucky You! When I flew to Rio, I once had Paris Hilton on the flight, and, another time, Bruno Gaucho. Flying from New York I was once on the plane with Lukas and Johann, thus my name Lucky for the last nine years. And, years ago, Ryan O'Neal and Farrah were on my flight from Acapulco. Incidentally, Paris flew up front, the boys in coach with me!

From kennethinthe212.com: Tuesday, February 03, 2009 Shoppers Not Wilde Enough for Oscar Sure made me sad to read that the famed Oscar Wilde Bookstore in the West Village, believed to be the oldest gay and lesbian bookstore in the country, has announced it will close on March 29 after 41 years in business. This isn't the first time the shop has been on the brink of extinction -- six years ago it was set to shutter when a new owner came to the rescue -- but with the current economic climate it seems certain this is the end. I hate that a shop that played such a pivotal role in the lives of so many of my brothers and sisters is perishing, yet at the same time I find myself buying all of my books online these days (and I can't help but buy all my CDs and DVDs online because all those shops have already gone under), so I can't say I'm not partially responsible for its demise, too. Kim Brinster, the store’s manager since 1996 and the store’s fifth owner (since 2006), sent the following e-mail to customers on Tuesday afternoon. It is with a sorrowful heart that after 41 years in business the Oscar Wilde Bookshop will close its doors for the final time on March 29, 2009. We want to thank all of our customers for their love and loyalty to the store over the years. You have helped make this store a world wide destination and all of us at the store have enjoyed welcoming our neighbors whether they are next door or half way around the world. In 1967 Craig Rodwell started this landmark store that not only sold Gay and Lesbian literature but also became a meeting place for the LGBT community. Over the years it grew into a first-rate bookshop thanks to the loyal, smart and dedicated staff. There are not enough words to thank these dedicated booksellers for making the OWB one of the world’s finest LGBT bookstores. I feel very honored to have gotten to work with them. Unfortunately we do not have the resources to weather the current economic crisis and find it’s time to call it a day. So thanks to all who have been a part of the Oscar Wilde family over the years, you have truly been a part of a great global community.

The NY Times today reports something rather astonishing. The website MYSpace has come up with a list of which of its members are registered sex offenders. They have reported having 90,000 sex offenders registered with their website. Facebook does much better, only 8000 of its members being registered sex offenders. The United States has 700,000 registered sex offenders, and nowadays you can go online and learn if your neighbor is one. But what I don't get is how MySpace and Facebook were able to come up with these figures. Can't you be rather anonymous in signing up? Nonetheless, MySpace has turned the 90,000 names over to two different attorneys general, and already people are lamenting the fact that our children are not safe online. But others point out that online bullying is much more of a problem for children. So far, I haven't had one known sex offender contact me, but then, I may be too old for them. I have noticed a bully or two. How about You? Are you registered? If so, kindly let the admins know so that they can inform on you. And, if you want to be better informed on this topic, then here is the article I am quoting from: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/04/technolo...space.html?_r=1

A poster at another web site, goes by the handle glutes, wrote recently of his horrible experience at the San Vicente Inn. At the moment I am unable to pull up his comments due to technical difficulties, but I am pretty sure he said something along the lines of scummy dump. Those sentiments, incidentally, seem commonly used when discussing the San Vicente Inn.

The Department of Justice has rehired a lawyer who was let go under Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on rumors that she is a lesbian: Justice Rehires Attorney Fired Amid Gay Rumor by Ari Shapiro All Things Considered, February 2, 2009 · On Monday, the Justice Department undid a small part of the damage that top officials caused in a scandal of politicized hiring and firing during the Bush administration. The department rehired an attorney who was improperly removed from her job because she was rumored to be a lesbian. NPR first broke the story of Leslie Hagen's dismissal last April, and the Justice Department's inspector general later corroborated the report. Now, Hagen has returned to her post at the department's Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys. In 2006, Hagen was the liaison between the main Justice Department and the U.S. Attorneys' committee on Native American affairs. The chairman of that committee, Tom Heffelfinger, described Hagen to NPR last year as "the best qualified person in the nation to fill that job." Hagen's performance evaluations had the highest possible ratings — "outstanding" in each of five categories. The job came up for renewal every year. After the first year, Hagen was surprised to hear that she would have to move on. As NPR reported in April, a top aide to the attorney general had heard a rumor that Hagen was a lesbian. Discrimination based on sexual orientation is against Justice Department rules. But Monica Goodling, senior counsel to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, had Hagen removed from her job anyway. That was more than a year ago. The inspector general eventually confirmed the NPR report and added new details, saying Goodling not only ousted Hagen but also blocked Hagen from getting other Justice Department jobs she was qualified for. Last year, the Justice Department posted Hagen's old job again. The department conducted a national search. Applications came in from around the country. After several rounds of interviews, Hagen eventually won the job. The paperwork makes it official as of Monday, Feb. 2. Hagen now has her old position back, but this time it's a little different. Her contract no longer comes up for renewal every year. Now, the job is permanent. It is not a perfectly happy ending for Hagen. Nobody official from the department ever apologized to her for what happened. She still owes thousands of dollars in attorney fees, and the Justice Department has refused to pay those bills. That was the department's position under the Bush administration, anyway. Hagen's attorney says her client hopes the new attorney general will take a different view.