Lucky

Voting is mandatory for Brasilians. Yet I read that 40 million people who voted chose no candidate for president. That may show some vulnerability on the bigot candidate's part. People realize that the country could take a turn towards dictatorship if Bolsonaro is elected. Maybe these 40 million people will vote against him on Sunday. I am not too hopeful, but why not think positive?

Ericparker, welcome to the forums!

Guys, you agree more than you disagree. As the OP, I don't mind some digressions in the thread, but fights I prefer to see settled amicably. You are both good posters, so why not let this go?

The real crisis will be if Hillary tries to run again in 2020. She would just interfere with the Democrats putting up a candidate who can win. Can't she take her millions and just shut up?

That works for me!

The news is reporting that Trump wants to define transgenders out of existence. You are what your genitals say you are when you ere born. The problem with that is illustrated by a friend of mine, whose genitals at birth with a mix of vagina and something that might have been a penis. No way to say his genitals define him then. I am just so sick of Trump.

That's why I am struggling with my upcoming trip to Thailand. I don't think a Thai guy can be as sexual as a Brazil guy. I do like Thai guys, but when you only have so much time for travel. But I did decide to go ahead with the trip, so I will find the right guy.

Act like a Carioca? If only. Cariocas have a special quality that comes with birth and gets reinforced as they grow in the family and the neighborhoods. Hanging out with them is as close to acting like a Carioca as I can get!

Good advice, guys. Thanks!

I went back to read some of the posts from2011,2012, and 2013, We were doing the same things then- making inquiries, advising each other, recommending this or that. All very civilly. Ihpguy was right there with some pretty good advice from someone living there. He told us about teller and other strikes, Metro closings, and things of that nature. He kept us up to date on Meio Mundo and Acyr! So I am happy that he is back, hopefully to stay awhile.

The rise in the dollar has ended. The real is back to less than 4 to a dollar.

"The word 'queer' will always be an assault on those of my generation." (I couldn't agree more.) There's a very interesting interview in today's Los Angeles times with author (City of Night) John Rechy. http://www.latimes.com/books/la-ca-jc-john-rechy-20181019-story.html

I was simply so shocked to see the video outside of the porn section that I watched it twice!

You think my peeing habit are sexy? Wow! Thank you.

That was a big surprise to me. Westerners don't use tones like Asians do. The word "mai" means no, if you use the right tone. There are 4 other tones, each giving the word a different meaning. Our ears just don't adapt well to that. Maybe the younger folks can do it.

Is this still the rule?

Did you contact the Facebook complaint department?

Why would anyone care to know?

kjun, you have been there 14 years and have not learned to speak Thai? I hope that I would have tried to learn to speak it if I stayed that long. I did take some lessons to allow me to use common phrases, ask where the bathroom is, and a few bedroom topics. To be proficient though might be too hard, I don't know.

Coming out was no lark for me. No one made jokes about cumming out. It was quite serious. It affected my parents, my siblings, my friends and acquaintances, and, of course, me. I took my good old time about it, finally waiting until I had finished law school and had no excuse not to turn to the most pressing problem I had. Naturally once I was out, I felt great. I wondered why I had taken so long. Rather than inhibit my career, it advanced it. So it's not a joke, and many gays agonize about it for years. They fear society's reaction, their family's reaction, and the reaction from their friends. Most people get a supportive response, but not everyone does. Some hurt even worse for coming out. Family ties suffer. Depression and drugs sometimes come into play. It's not a joke. It's an important advancement for thousands of people. They should be congratulated for coming out, and National Coming Out Day should be a serious day. Now I know for a fact that not all members here are out, so congratulating all of us is not yet the appropriate comment. Encouraging people to come out might help, especially if you share positive stories about your own coming out.

Numazu continues to impress. He can really write a story well. I am enjoying each segment. Maybe we should do a Go Fund Me for him so that he can afford to keep traveling!

People have genuine concerns about the risks of traveling to Brazil. I don't discount them, although I also don't plan to stop visiting barring a change in that risk. We each have to decide for ourselves.

Headlines from today's NY Daily News: Brutes jump, beat 25-year-old man for his cell phone in Brooklyn Man, 28, stabbed by two men near Times Square, seriously injured Man hospitalized after being shot in the face and stomach in Queens Suspects in home invasion and sex assault at retired NYPD lieutenant's Brooklyn house charged with attempted murder So, do we boycott Brooklyn, Times Square, or Queens, and, um, Brooklyn again. Crime is everywhere. In Rio the favelas have the worst crime. I don't go there, although I did once take a guided tour, long ago. Fearing crime is one thing, being paralyzed by it is another. After all, this headline could have been someone you know, as we all risk car accidents without much thought: Man struck by car while trying to cross Brooklyn expressway, critically injured: police

I know that I am taking a break from posting, at least I said that I didn't feel like engaging people at the time, but here I need to say that any cute guy on the plane will be surveilled from the beginning of the trip to the end. And I am probably not the only one surveilling! My goal is not to jail him, just to get some private precious moments, usually prone but not necessarily. I will not cuff him without a request.

Whether the sauna stays open or not does not depend on Mvan's friend predicting its demise. He may be right, he may be wrong. I prefer to wait and see. I think you are being too hard on Mvan for relaying a friend's opinion.