TotallyOz

Growing up in Alabama I didn't have many things that interested me. The one exception was music. The band director asked me to join the marching band in 6th Grade and from there on, I had something that interested me. Music was an important part of my life and today I went to the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. It has instruments from every corner of the globe. It also had instruments played by Elvis, John Lennon, Janis Joplin, and more. The museum was massive and I loved that there were tv screen on every area that when you walked near them, the music of those instruments played on your headset. It was amazing to listen to such great songs while looking at instruments made around the world. One of my favorite exhibits was by R. Carlos Nakai. I fell in love with his native American flute music in undergraduate school and from then on, I was in love with his music. I got to see the first Steinway Piano EVER. It was just an amazing day and brought back such great memories music from today and years gone by! If you are in Phoenix, this place is great and it has an amazing organic cafe with delicious food from the local area. Yumm! Naturally, I loved the Thai exhibit as the music was very familiar to me. They also have a photo of the kind playing an instrument. Overall, the place was really a joy to spend time with if you like world music.

bingo

Anyone remember who wore this outfit? HINT: I was at museum of Musical Instruments today.

Growing up in Alabama I didn't have many things that interested me. The one exception was music. The band director asked me to join the marching band in 6th Grade and from there on, I had something that interested me. Music was an important part of my life and today I went to the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. It has instruments from every corner of the globe. It also had instruments played by Elvis, John Lennon, Janis Joplin, and more. The museum was massive and I loved that there were tv screen on every area that when you walked near them, the music of those instruments played on your headset. It was amazing to listen to such great songs while looking at instruments made around the world. One of my favorite exhibits was by R. Carlos Nakai. I fell in love with his native American flute music in undergraduate school and from then on, I was in love with his music. I got to see the first Steinway Piano EVER. It was just an amazing day and brought back such great memories music from today and years gone by! If you are in Phoenix, this place is great and it has an amazing organic cafe with delicious food from the local area. Yumm!

Has this been reported in the comments section or just in the threads here? If only here, things get overlooked. I tried to find a thread about this in the Comments and Suggestions and I could not. Or, has it been reported to the admins yet via email or the Contact Us?

Have you been watching the news about Phil Jackson stating that there were no gay NBA players? LOL Not only are there gay players out there, there are also gay coaches. I once saw a photo of one of these coaches in the West Side Club taking something really unique up his ass. But, I guess that doesn't qualify as being gay does it? Does this man have any intelligence? That is like saying there are no gay guys in Iran. Yes, that guy is an idiot as well. http://www.buzzfeed.com/ktlincoln/phil-jackson-calls-question-about-gay-nba-players-ridiculous

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cason-crane/the-rainbow-summits-project_b_2769290.html Cason Crane, who will be enrolled at Princeton University this fall, has been all over the world, climbing peaks that would make any normal person weary at only twenty years old. He climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro with his mother in 2008 at age 15. Since then, he has climbed mountains in the United States, New Zealand, Russia, Switzerland, France, and Argentina. He is the founder of the Rainbow Summits Project, which ties together his passion for climbing with his advocacy for the Trevor Project, and organization which seeks to stop suicides in LGBTQ youth. The Rainbow Summits Project hopes to raise awareness and funds by climbing the highest peak on each continent, commonly referred to as "the seven summits". Crane told Out Sports, "I'm so lucky to have had such a positive experience and I'm doing this project for kids like this who have had a much tougher time, who deal with this every day, who love sports but are afraid to even go to sports games for fear of being beaten up or called names and that just shouldn't happen. He's way more courageous than I am and it shows true character to do what he does every single day." Cason will be the first openly gay person to accomplish this feat, in addition to becoming the fifth youngest person ever to climb these mountains. http://www.buzzfeed.com/skarlan/gay-teen-mountaineer-has-sights-set-on-everest

Shit. Yep, meant guns.

I am so glad they have finally gotten off their asses and are doing this. I loved the first one and I know this one will be great. I also know they must love the free press Ellen gives them!

Does anyone really need an AK 47 for safety? That is insane! I grew up in Alabama and owned over 100 guys in my lifetime. However, they were shot guns, rifles, pistols, etc. My uncle who raises champion coon dogs and has well over 500 guns said there were no need for anyone to have the assault weapons except the military. He is not against gun ownership at all but we are both for sanity. I want to see more restrictions put on gun ownership and more laws on the books that deal swiftly with people who break the laws. Did you see the NRA has now said they want teaches to carry guns to school. Again, growing up in Alabama having teachers that I saw assault kids with their hands, to have guns in school in nuts. IMHO

Well, it did take Rob Portman 2 years at least. And, Dick Cheney? How long did it take him? This issue is moving very very fast and I can't even keep up to be honest. But, I am glad that more and more are coming out of the closet as when this happens, more and more realize they know and love someone that is gay.

Fabulous photos. Thanks for the link.

Looks like I am set to meet up with Lurker this weekend as well. Looking forward to a good time! I hope others are able to join us!

Anyone ever been on this balloon adventure in Myanmar? http://www.easternsafaris.com/balloonsoverbagan_home.html

I like some Thai movies. Did you already see Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior? good movie if you like the fighting movies. Beautiful Boxer is one of my favorites as well. I enjoy the Thai action movies but I just don't get the scary/funny ones. The BF loves them and laughs and laughs and laughs but I just don't get it.

I found another great photo from years gone by. Many years back, Devint who posts on this site went with us to Brazil for a trip. We had a good time in the saunas but much more seeing the great beauty that Rio has to enjoy. Here is Devint and my long term guy Jefferson on the beach in Ipanema. Good memories!

Great profile Assuperman! How is life in Jakarta? http://www.gaythailand.com/profile/Assuperman/

Private daily newspapers are being sold in Burma for the first time in almost 50 years, as a state monopoly ends. Sixteen papers have so far been granted licences, although only four were ready to publish on Monday. This is another important milestone on Burma's journey away from authoritarian rule, the BBC's Jonathan Head reports from the commercial capital, Rangoon. Until recently, reporters in Burma faced some of the harshest restrictions in the world. Private dailies in Burmese, English, Indian and Chinese, which had been commonplace in the former British colony, were forced to close under military rule in 1964. Subsequently, journalists were frequently subjected to surveillance and phone-tapping, and were often tortured or imprisoned. Newspapers that broke the rules were shut down. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21991899

LOL Sorry, I had one of me in the middle of all those boys but didn't upload it. It took away from the beauty of the photo.

And, for my last post with photos, here is my Marco who stayed with me night after night in Rio on this trip.

Lastly, I can't explain what New Year's or Carnival is like expect to tell you it is mass people everywhere. This was New Year's Eve from my hotel room on one trip.

Here is my surfer boy that Alex brought to me on my first trip to Brazil. We have kept in touch for 10 years.

You heard me talk about my tour guide in Sao Paulo. Here he is with me at the Intercontinental Hotel in Rio and on Ipanema.

The Scala Gay is a big party every year at Carnival. It is so much fun and all gay all night. Even the thousands of people outside are all gay having a party. Inside the club is a blast that must be experienced at least once!

Here is Anderson who I met at Club 117 and he spent several trips with me at Carnival and around Brazil.