TotallyOz

I have had friends stay here and they loved it. I want the BF and I to stay here on my next trip to LOS. I am curious if anyone has taken a BF there and how the experience was? I have read nothing but rave reviews of the place. Some more first hand experience would be great! http://www.fourseasons.com/goldentriangle/

It opens nationwide this weekend. It is worth a visit. Also saw The Blind Side and really enjoyed it!

I think he is hot and sexy. I do think he is being used by many but he seems OK to have him 15 minutes of fame. I'd like to see more!

We have 2 logins. One for main site and one for forum. When you log in with main site it automatically logs you into the forum. We have set them to be the same time frame. The reason is that many would log into the site and go to forum and then go back to site and log out but remain logged into the forum. This was not a good situation. We have to have them both the same. Daddy's site is forum only. There is no other login needed. Ours is. We need to have them synched for security reasons. I know it is a pain for those that want to stay logged in for weeks at a time but the process should not take more than a few seconds.

It was the first gay publication I ever read. It is a real loss.

Are any of the dancing boys, working boys?

Nineteen-year-old, Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado’s body was found burned, decapitated and dismembered on Nov. 14 in Cayey, a city only a few miles away from his hometown in Caguas. According to an iReport by Christopher Pagan, “He was a very well known person in the gay community of Puerto Rico, and very loved.” Pagan said, “Never in the history of Puerto Rico has a murder been classified as a hate crime. Even though we have to follow federal mandates and laws, many of the laws in which are passed in the USA such as Obama’s new bill, do not always directly get practiced in Puerto Rico.” Pagan also noted the public remarks from a police investigator for the case that ‘people who lead this type of lifestyle need to be aware that this will happen’. Towleroad translated gay activist Pedro Julio Serrano’s response: “It is inconceivable that the investigating officer suggests that the victim deserved his fate, like a woman deserves rape for wearing a short skirt. We demand condemnation of this investigator and demand that Superintendent Figueroa Sancha replace him with someone capable of investigating this case without prejudice.” According to Pagan, the story has only made local headlines and deserves international coverage. http://www.365gay.com/topics/news_politics/gay-teen-burned-and-decapitated-in-puerto-rico/

This may be the first country in Latin American to approve same sex marriage. http://www.towleroad.com/2009/11/judge-in-argentina-rules-gay-couple-can-marry.html

We made it to the finals for the Best Escort Site. Please vote for us. http://www.cybersocketwebawards.com/vote.php

Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- When Laura Douglas-Brown got to work on Monday, she saw a note on the door. "It is with great regret that we must inform you that effective immediately, the operations of Window Media LLC and United Media LLC have closed down." It asked employees to return Wednesday, adding, "Please bring boxes and/or containers that will allow you to collect all your personal belongings at one time." And with that, Douglas-Brown lost her job at Atlanta, Georgia-based Southern Voice -- the South's main newspaper for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities -- where she has worked for more than 12 years. Southern Voice, which was in print for more than 20 years and had a 100,000 circulation, was one of several gay newspapers and magazines, including the Washington Blade and South Florida Blade, that were shut down Monday when their parent companies, Window Media and United Media, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. "Certainly we knew finances were tight, but none of us were expecting this today," said Douglas-Brown, who spent her day greeting staffers at the office so they wouldn't find the note alone. Calls to corporate offices of the parent companies were not immediately returned Monday. Douglas-Brown said that an investment group, Avalon Equity Fund, owned the majority of Window Media, the country's largest gay and lesbian newspaper publisher. She said employees had heard that Avalon was in receivership with the federal Small Business Administration, which allows the agency to sell the company's assets to satisfy its loans. However, "We had been told the impact on us would be minimal and that the company would be sold," she said. Calls to Avalon's offices in New York went unanswered Monday. Kevin Nass, the editor of the Washington Blade, the nation's the oldest gay newspaper and second-largest by circulation, said when he arrived to work at 8 a.m. Monday, he was met by two corporate officers, notifying him that his paper would be shut down immediately. "The bottom line was they filed for Chapter 7, which means liquidation," Nass said. "I think a lot of us expected a Chapter 11 reorganization ... but they didn't go that route and I guess the creditors wanted out." He said the Blade's staff of more than 20 employees would meet Tuesday to discuss their options. "There's never been more news, more need of this niche," he said, noting that topics like same-sex marriage and the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy put gay publications in demand. The Blade, established in 1969, had a 33,000 circulation. "The audience is there, the need has never been greater," he added, saying his team planned to launch a new, independent publication. Douglas-Brown agreed, saying, "It's a tremendous loss. ... None of these publications have been shut down for a lack of stories." http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/11/16/gay.publications.shuttered/index.html

I saw this thread and got interested and saw this movie over the weekend. It was a great movie although it was VERY hard to watch at times. The acting was amazing. The director did a great job. This is something that you need to see.

For those of you that have been gracious enough to upgrade to Silver or Gold, we have fixed the size issue on the forum and it should now show properly. Thank you for your patience. Also, for those of you that didn't have a problem with the size, I can tell you from first hand experience but size does matter.

Thank you! I am excited to see this!

What is the legal limit? 30 percent? I honestly thought that was not possible.

I think I was just too quick in the response. It shows for me.

I don't want it to be Totally Oz. Although I do enjoy hearing myself talk.

He suggested: The Flying Leap in Silverlake. On weekdays they have very good specials and they have a full bar. Last gay Piano bar in LA. and then to MJ's. It is a short(7-10 minute)walk to Mj's for the dancing boys. Tuesday is a great night at MJ's as they have a LOT of dancing boys. Alternatively you could do something at Bossa Nova in WeHo on a night that here will have dancers/entertainment. Thanks Townie! Also, open to other suggestions and options. I hate Numbers closed as I did enjoy it there!

I have been to this place in the past and am on their newsletter list. They have started to have shared experiences with people which have drastically cute the rates for those that don't require a private condo. For the month of December, they are giving a 20 percent discount to all. It is a great deal and the people at the place are top notch trainers and professionals. I have been there 4 times before and had a fantastic time every time. They are the true biggest loser pros. I highly recommend it and if you have a few pounds to loose and a little spare time in December check them out at: http://liveinfitnessenterprise.com/ Look at some of their success stories on there. It is quite amazing. My friend just left there and spent 5 months and lost 160 pounds in a very successful way!

The LA Marathon announced its new course. The owners of the Dodgers bought the marathon last year so it will start there and the course seems much more interesting than in past years. I am training with the Venice LA road runners club for the event if I am able to be in town then but love the training anyway. For those that live in the area, check out the new course through WeHo, Rodeo Drive and ending in Santa Monica with a big party! http://www.lamarathon.com/

I am thinking about throwing an LA get together for everyone. I have talked to Townie about this and he has given me some suggestions on where to go. My question is who would be interested in this? Is there a demand for it? Would people show up? Naturally, I'd invite Daddy's Boys as well and every escort in LA. But, as a member thing, are any interested?

This has always been one of my favorite shows. It is a lot of fun and I don't miss any episode. I have really enjoyed this season and there are some hotties on there. Now that the merge has happened, who do you think will win?

You may experience some downtime getting to GayThailand as we move it to a new server address. My apologies for the inconvenience.

Perhaps Obama is right in that this is a once in our lifetime opportunity to overhaul the medical system in America. The below is from the Washington Post. Hours after President Obama exhorted Democratic lawmakers to "answer the call of history," the House hit an unprecedented milestone on the path to health-care reform, approving a trillion-dollar package late Saturday that seeks to overhaul private insurance practices and guarantee comprehensive and affordable coverage to almost every American. After months of acrimonious partisanship, Democrats closed ranks on a 220-215 vote that included 39 defections, mostly from the party's conservative ranks. But the bill attracted a surprise Republican convert: Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao of Louisiana, who represents the Democratic-leaning district of New Orleans and had been the target of a last-minute White House lobbying campaign. GOP House leaders had predicted their members would unanimously oppose the bill. Democrats have sought for decades to provide universal health care, but not since the 1965 passage of Medicare and Medicaid has a chamber of Congress approved such a vast expansion of coverage. Action now shifts to the Senate, which could spend the rest of the year debating its version of the health-care overhaul. Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) hopes to bring a measure to the floor before Thanksgiving, but legislation may not reach Obama's desk before the new year. At the Capitol, Obama urged the few Democrats who were still wavering on Saturday afternoon to put aside their political fears and embrace the bill's ambitious objectives. "Opportunities like this come around maybe once in a generation," he said afterward. "This is our moment to live up to the trust that the American people have placed in us. Even when it's hard. Especially when it's hard. This is our moment to deliver." The House legislation would for the first time require every individual to obtain insurance, and would require all but the smallest employers to provide coverage to their workers. It would vastly expand Medicaid and create a new marketplace where people could obtain federal subsidies to buy insurance from private companies or from a new government-run insurance plan. Though some people would receive no benefits -- including about 6 million illegal immigrants, according to congressional estimates -- the bill would virtually close the coverage gap for people who do not have access to health-care coverage through their jobs. "For generations, the American people have called for affordable, quality health care for their families," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said before the vote. "Today, the call will be answered." The debate on the House floor extended for about 12 hours and settled into a civil, if predictable, pattern, after a heated start. Republicans had blasted the 1,990-page bill as an ominous blueprint for a budget-busting government takeover of the private health-care system that would impose unprecedented mandates on individuals and employers, raise an array of taxes and slash projected spending on Medicare, the federal health program for the elderly. At a time of record budget deficits, Republicans argued that the country could ill-afford a new entitlement program that would cost an estimated $1.05 trillion over the next decade. "Big government doesn't mean better health care," said Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Tex.). "This is not the reform families need. This is all about taking a giant first step toward a single-payer national health-care system. Washington will ultimately decide what doctors you can see, what treatments you deserve . . . and, when you're sick, will you be worth their cost?" Throughout the debate, Republican after Republican warned that the legislation would rob Americans of their right to make choices about their health care, cost the nation jobs and unfairly financially burden future generations. Pelosi needed to corral at least 218 of 258 Democrats to push the bill across the finish line. That task appeared to grow easier after party leaders broke a weeks-long impasse over abortion by agreeing to hold a vote on an amendment -- offered by antiabortion Democrats -- that would explicitly bar the public plan from` covering the procedure. The amendment, approved 240 to 194, with 64 Democrats in favor, also would prohibit people who received insurance subsidies from purchasing private plans that covered abortion. The deal cleared the way for dozens of antiabortion Democrats to back the package. The most passionate advocates of abortion rights were not happy, but few were prepared to vote down legislation that promises to achieve so many long-held party goals. The House bill The complex package would affect virtually every American and fundamentally alter vast swaths of the health insurance industry. Starting next year, private insurers could no longer deny anyone coverage based on preexisting conditions, place lifetime limits on coverage or abandon people when they become ill. Insurers would be required to disclose and justify proposed premium increases to regulators, and could not remove adult children younger than 27 from their parents' family policies. For the elderly, the group that has been most skeptical of Obama's initiative, the House package would immediately offer discounts on prescription drugs and reduce a gap in Medicare prescription drug coverage, closing it entirely by 2019. Uninsured people who cannot get coverage could join temporary high-risk insurance pools, and unemployed workers would be permitted to keep their COBRA benefits until the public plan and insurance exchanges started in 2013. In four years, the measure would establish a new insurance system. Businesses with payrolls exceeding $500,000 would be required to offer their workers insurance or pay a fine of as much as 8 percent of payroll. Individuals would be required to obtain insurance or pay a fine of as much as 2.5 percent of income. States would be required to extend Medicaid coverage to as many as 15 million additional people. Low- and middle-income individuals who still could not afford coverage could apply for federal subsidies through an insurance marketplace that would negotiate with private insurers to provide comprehensive policies alongside a government-run "public option." Congressional budget analysts say the package would cover an additional 36 million Americans, leaving 18 million people without insurance by 2019, about a third of them illegal immigrants. To avoid increasing the deficit, Democrats would pay for the coverage expansion by slicing more than $400 billion from Medicare over the next decade, and by imposing a variety of new taxes, primarily a 5.4 percent surcharge on annual income over $500,000 for individuals and $1 million for families. Initially, the tax would hit only 0.3 percent of taxpayers, but that number would climb rapidly, because the income thresholds would not be indexed to inflation. Obstacles overcome Introduced on July 14, the House package was approved in sections by three House committees. Since August, Pelosi has huddled behind closed doors with various factions of her diverse caucus to merge the three parts into comprehensive legislation. The sticking points were clear from the start. Conservatives opposed the bill's price tag and limited efforts to cut costs. Moderates, who face the toughest 2010 reelection battles, were wary of big-government overtones in the public option. Democrats from wealthy districts opposed the tax on high earners, which originally would have affected taxpayers with annual incomes as low as $280,000. One after another, the obstacles were overcome -- except for the simmering dispute over abortion. In early October, Rep. Bart Stupak, an antiabortion Democrat from Michigan, met with Pelosi to express the strong objections of about 40 Democrats to a provision in the legislation that appeared to allow federal funding of abortion. Stupak said they would oppose the bill unless the language was changed. Pelosi was noncommittal. Late Friday, the Stupak coalition was still holding strong, and had gained a powerful ally in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, whose leadership has close connections to Pelosi. Over the strong objections of Democrats who support abortion rights, the speaker relented to Stupak, awarding him the only Democratic amendment on the floor. The Senate bill Attention will now shift back to the Senate. If the Senate acts, negotiations to iron out differences between the two chambers could be wrenching. Among the toughest issues: whether the public option should include an "opt out" clause for states, as Reid has proposed; whether to require employers to provide coverage to their workers or take the less punitive approach preferred by Senate moderates; and whether to tax the rich or tax high-cost health-care policies, as the Senate proposed -- a provision economists call the most important provisions in either bill for reining in costs. In his lunchtime speech to House Democrats, Obama did not touch on any of those issues. But he acknowledged the anxiety felt by lawmakers who watched independent voters abandon Democratic candidates in Virginia and New Jersey in Tuesday's elections, and he warned that voting down the most significant legislation of his young presidency would only complicate the party's political future. "If you think the Republicans are not going to go after you if you vote no," the president said, according to several people present, "think again." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/07/AR2009110701504.html?wprss=rss_print/asection

I had a friend that was recently diagnosed with cancer of the throat. He was worried about HPV and I didn't really know much about that so I started to do some research and found there is a vaccine. From what I read it is mostly for women but men can get it as well. Has anyone gotten this? Know about it? Recommend it? http://www.aidsmeds.com/articles/1667_12736.shtml

LOL I read the story about the man getting denied First Class because of his track suit. I had to laugh. I have been in First Class for years with my tie dyed hippie t-shirt (my favorite for travel), Birkenstocks, and $2.50 Thai Cargo Shorts. When I read this story I wondered if I were next in line for an ousting. http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/item.aspx?type=blog&ak=620001025.blog&poe=HFMostPopularUPDATE (10:15 p.m. ET on Thursday, Nov. 5): United is out with its side of the story. (Scroll down for the original post.) Airline spokesman Robin Urbanski told me in an e-mail Thursday evening that the airline does not have a policy that would prevent a customer from sitting in first class for dressing too casually. Instead, the gate agent apparently thought the customer in a track suit was an airline employee. If that would have been the case, an employee would have been subject to a dress code. "We are working with our sub-contractor that was helping us with this flight to investigate what happened and ensure something like this does not happen again," Urbanski said in the e-mail. "This was an unfortunate miscommunication with the gate agent who speaks English as a second language and was simultaneously assisting another customer when he believed Mr. Alvarez to be an airline employee in which a dress code policy is required." ORIGINAL POST (8:35 a.m. ET on Thursday, Nov.5): An executive with Best Buy claims a United Airlines gate agent refused to allow him to take a first-class seat because he was wearing a track suit, reports FOX 5 News of Washington. Armando Alvarez, a corporate executive with electronics retailer Best Buy, says he used miles to upgrade to first class on his Monday flight from Washington Dulles to Connecticut (presumably Hartford). Alvarez says that once his upgrade cleared, he walked to the counter near the gate to get his new seat assignment. That's when he says the gate agent told him that his track suit was too casual for him to sit in first class. (See a picture and video of the suit on FOX 5’s website). "I was humiliated," Alvarez is quoted as saying to FOX 5 reporter Will Thomas following the incident. "I was embarrassed and when some of the passengers were boarding behind me they said, 'Hey, what just happened?' And I said the agent just said I wasn't properly dressed to go in first class today. And they said, 'Was he kidding?' I said obviously not because I'm boarding and not getting in first class." OTHER PASSENGER NEWS: Southwest kicks mom, cranky kid off flight FOX 5 updates the story with a response from United. On its website, the TV station writes a United "spokesperson says they've identified the gate agent and he is a contract employee who works for Air Wisconsin. The spokesperson says the employee was interviewed and security footage from the terminal is being reviewed as officials for both airlines investigate the incident. United says there is no passenger dress code, but they cited two rules. Ticketed passengers can not be barefoot and must be clothed."