MsAnn

Gotta love the roller skates.

Thank you...But for the record, I might on occasion violate the TOS of this forum.

On a side note, what are the posting rules for the forum "The Organ"?

For years...a treasured possession that sadly was lost in a move.

Always brilliant!!! And just what the doctor ordered tonight...

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/rare-painting-leonardo-da-vinci-auctioned-york-051045114.html?.tsrc=bell-brknews Christ painting by Leonardo da Vinci sells for record $450M NEW YORK (AP) -- A painting of Christ by the Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci sold for a record $450 million (380 million euros) at auction on Wednesday, obliterating previous records for artworks sold at auction or privately. The painting, called "Salvator Mundi," Italian for "Savior of the World," is one of fewer than 20 paintings by Leonardo known to exist and the only one in private hands. It was sold by Christie's auction house, which didn't immediately identify the buyer. The highest price ever paid for a work of art at auction had been $179.4 million (152 million euros), for Picasso's "Women of Algiers (Version O)" in May 2015, also at Christie's in New York. The highest known sale price for any artwork had been $300 million (253 million euros), for Willem de Kooning's "Interchange," sold privately in September 2015 by the David Geffen Foundation to hedge fund manager Kenneth C. Griffin. A backer of the "Salvator Mundi" auction had guaranteed a bid of at least $100 million (85 million euros), the opening bid of the auction, which ran for 19 minutes. The price hit $300 million about halfway through the bidding. People in the auction house gallery applauded and cheered when the bidding reached $300 million and when the hammer came down on the final bid, $400 million. The record sale price of $450 million includes the buyer's premium, a fee paid by the winner to the auction house. The 26-inch-tall (66-centimeter-tall) Leonardo painting dates from around 1500 and shows Christ dressed in Renaissance-style robes, his right hand raised in blessing as his left hand holds a crystal sphere. Its path from Leonardo's workshop to the auction block at Christie's was not smooth. Once owned by King Charles I of England, it disappeared from view until 1900, when it resurfaced and was acquired by a British collector. At that time it was attributed to a Leonardo disciple, rather than to the master himself. The painting was sold again in 1958 and then acquired in 2005, badly damaged and partly painted-over, by a consortium of art dealers who paid less than $10,000 (8,445 euros). The art dealers restored the painting and documented its authenticity as a work by Leonardo. The painting was sold Wednesday by Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, who bought it in 2013 for $127.5 million (108 million euros) in a private sale that became the subject of a continuing lawsuit. Christie's says most scholars agree that the painting is by Leonardo, though some critics have questioned the attribution and some say the extensive restoration muddies the work's authorship. Christie's capitalized on the public's interest in Leonardo, considered one of the greatest artists of all time, with a media campaign that labeled the painting "The Last Da Vinci." The work was exhibited in Hong Kong, San Francisco, London and New York before the sale. In New York, where no museum owns a Leonardo, art lovers lined up outside Christie's Rockefeller Center headquarters on Tuesday to view "Salvator Mundi." Svetla Nikolova, who is from Bulgaria but lives in New York, called the painting "spectacular." "It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience," she said. "It should be seen. It's wonderful it's in New York. I'm so lucky to be in New York at this time."

May he go in peace...

Ahhhh yes!!

Except that the good congressman is a Republican...Yikes!! Yes I know, but I'd still do em.

Congressman Adam Kinzinger. Just in case Phil is busy.

Phil Mattingly

I get up in the morning and I worry about a lot of things. Pedophiles in Alabama, Collusion in the West Wing, Americans suffering in Puerto Rico, the White House turning into some autocratic banana republic, the debilitating pain in my shoulder that won't go away, property taxes that just went up again, the transmission in my car that's begun to shift too hard...and so it goes. Birds bringing me money would not be among my concerns. Feel free to forward any excess that you are uncomfortable keeping. Address available upon request.

"Little Egypt"...Hmmm, that's actually on my radar. Cairo not Carbondale.

My answer is still the same. Who knows why someone doesn't talk about their hiring while traveling. The fact that they don't talk about it to the degree that it's discussed here, doesn't mean that it doesn't occur. My only point is that you are making some assumptions about members over there that is inaccurate. I just felt compelled to point out the inaccuracy. It's not really a big deal.

I don't have that answer, but I personally know at least a dozen members there that are constant world travelers, and they rarely discuss their adventures, and I travel fairly extensively, and I don't talk about it either. I think you'd be surprised how many members over there are seasoned travelers. My focus on that site is more on politics and the lounge. Each site offers something different for everyone.

That's an "incorrect" and unfair characterization of the members there.

"You're an ass"

Yes, but in this day and political climate, everyone knows that crime is rampant in Mexico, and anyone living there, and hooking up with someone off a dating app is a dangerous proposition...In my opinion. It is dangerous in the best of circumstances, but in Mexico? I understand that O'Neil let his guard down because he lived there, but I would argue that living there and knowing the corruption and crime, you would become even more vigilant. The killer wasn't necessarily his boyfriend, but it was the boyfriend who set him up because of a business arrangement gone bad and the allegedly arranged for the date through the dating app, at least that's how I understood the story. No matter, it was a dangerous thing to do. A few years back they found my friend in some back alley in Tijuana, stabbed 17 times. It was a hook up from a bar. And my housekeeper's father was shot in Acapulco while visiting, caught in the cross fire of a drug cartel shootout in broad day light outside his hotel. In both cases, no one was ever charged, and the deaths just swept under the table. Friends and family were told by authorities NOT to come to Mexico and cause any trouble. I haven't been to Mexico in 30 years, except for a stop once in Cancun when on a cruise, and then I never left the tour group or ventured anywhere by myself. Crime is everywhere, I understand that, even where I live, but I am as cautious at home as I am anywhere. So yes Tragic and sad, but very preventable.

Tragic yes, and yet all so preventable...

Well yes. Gratefully members have linked me to post from a time long gone, some were legendary. It is not to be now, so one takes what one can get.

Breaking out the gin and tonic as we speak...

Calling it "soulless tyranny" is a misguided characterization of the site, and your characterization of this being a 'democratic paradise' is hardly accurate in my opinion. From someone who has posted on Daddy's for somewhere around six years and also been banned a time or two or three, I much prefer a site where admin doesn't allow bad behavior among it's members. Personally I understand his caution and sometimes seemingly heavy handedness at moderating. Admin has cautioned me on numerous occasions, and in the end they were absolutely correct in putting out the fires. You can't have any kind of civil discourse when posters are allowed to have rants that go unabated. When threads start to lose focus and emotions run high and become personal, there is a certain comfort in knowing that admin is there to put a lid on the pot. Allowing someone to post endlessly about how they have been wronged, is entertaining, but does nothing to generate any quality. Posters here seem to carry endless grudges and constantly attack other posters that they would like to drive off the site. I think they do it, because they can, and it's allowed, but It's like a car wreck, I slow down to look, then I move on. When all is said and done, when it's mentioned that it's just participation, or it's just more traffic, that's BS. There are some pretty interesting men and women over there. Very diverse, highly intelligent from a multitude of backgrounds. As I mentioned before, the often spirited posts in the political forum alone is worth being involved in. Having faced the brunt of troll behavior from a bunch of psychotic vindictive queens, I appreciated admins attempt, not always successful, at controlling the direction of the forum. Moderating is not an easy thing to do. There is a fine line that sometimes gets crossed, but in the end, it makes for a more civil place to post. Lastly...I post there because I find that by and large, the topics and threads are more interesting, conversations more robust, the debate more spirited, and the posters more diverse. It's as simple as that really...and well of course the 'gallery', there is that. My hat off to those that contribute there. You know who you are.

Just a few things I find frustrating. If you make a post and hit submit, and decide that you want to add something or delete a comment, or realize that you've made a spelling or grammatical error, you can't after 30 mins. The software prevents any changes. If you decided to delete the thread or post altogether, even within the allotted time, once you have submitted it, the software doesn't allow it, it forces you to post something. YouTube videos aren't always compatible and every so often, I can't get one to post at all. I don't know why there is more traffic there and more participation, I just don't have that answer, but there is. The energy and topics are more diverse in all the forums, and the posters more interesting. The 'Political Forum' alone is worth the price of entry. That's just how I see it. AS and Lars were a great loss, people should be thankful that they are here. And lastly, I personally like the admins style of moderation. I think sometimes a stricter hand keeps those that behave badly off the site. Is it too much sometimes, perhaps, but in the end, it makes for a more civil atmosphere. There are no right answers here, some like it, others don't. You prefer it here, I prefer it there. It's not really worth debating.

For one, it has far superior software, It's more user friendly, and the site is easier to navigate.