MostlyLurking

FWIW, I am pretty stupid about non-linear story telling, but I did not have trouble with Dunkirk. And it's a big film so - for those of us who do not have difficulty with the format - it should suit IMAX well.

Long years ago, I was working at a big law firm. We had a difference of opinion about how much money I should be bringing into the firm. (We differed by a decimal point.) With a good deal of encouragement from the firm, I started out on my own. A few months later, I had a client respond to a bill with a screed about how I was ripping off the community. I tore up the bill and sent back the money he'd paid on previous bills. It felt so good. Getting stiffed by a client is a bummer. But it's nowhere near as bad as being angry for an hour. And getting shorted once or twice every few years is nowhere near as bad as approaching every encounter with distrust. Getting shorted is a small price to pay for the privilege of living with an open heart.

Does my $13,000 balance on Master Card count?

I started marching in the parades in . . . oh, let's say 1971. I quit when I couldn't tolerate the commercialism and the opportunistic politicians. Besides, there wasn't any contingent with a message I had any interest in supporting. This year, however, there was a Solidarity Contingent here in Chicago. "We're here! We're queer! We're Socialists!" It was WONDERFUL. And my friend says I can have my Gay card back.

Do you think it's time to come out to the boys? Based on the discussion here, I think the chance of rejection is very slight, and the possibility of adding an entire dimension to your relationship looks pretty great.

This is but one example - although a particularly irritating one - of a really common failing: neglecting to update a statement which has become stale. The reason this one is particularly irritating is that it's likely to be the preface to a frustrating and interminable interaction with a computer.

There is something perversely delicious in the pervasive use of "literally" - figuratively.

Hell, I get a thrill when the machine scans my card and says "Accepted." Acceptance is hard enough to get.

How is that arranged?

1. As Gman says, nothing is 100% safe. I often hire guys from Rent.Men for whom I do not find reviews. I am often disappointed but have never felt unsafe. I seem to have a protective bubble, but that's my experience - FWIW. 2. You'd have better response to your inquiry about MrGoodBody by asking the The Deli, the forum especially for that kind of inquiry. 3. Nervousness is common but not justified by the amount of risk - particularly if you do your research.

There are colleges without fraternities which are doing just fine. I am very, very glad I went to one.

Once every week or three. Sigh.

I don't think that's $117/month. I think that's $117 per pill.

They'll have to come down on the price before it becomes "the norm." Adam Smith, does your ACA insurer cover it?

Howard Brown, the LGBTQ health center in Chicago, is recommending faithful condom use even for people on PrEP. Are they alone?

This is a thread to continue the discussion of constructive ways to respond to addiction in general, previously carried on in the thread called Thoughts on Sex Addiction. Please keep postings respectful. Please recognize the limits of your own knowledge and the existence of valid perspectives other than your own. While I've been in therapy forever, I have never participated in twelve-step or any other form of addiction treatment. My familiarity is limited to what I've picked up by growing up with an alcoholic mother and by living 45 years in the Gay community. And of course from what I've learned in the prior thread. Let me propose a consensus position as a possible framework for continued discussion. Addiction is powerful, constructive, and wily. There are no guaranteed cures. Treatments which work for some people may not work for others. Twelve-step can be helpful for some people. Important elements for some people may include fellowship and an accepting environment. Some AA meetings may emphasize teachings and perspectives that can go beyond recovery to wisdom, as illustrated in the book "One Breath at a Time." On the other hand, many meetings are dogmatic and, however compassionate they may be about addiction, are mercilessly bigoted about other things, including notably sex and sexual orientation. Participation in these meetings can be deadly, particularly for LGBTQ people in general - and perhaps for escorts and clients in particular. Other forms of treatment, including notably medication and various modalities of talk therapy, can also be helpful for some people. These forms may be more easily studied and quantified than 12-step, but analysis and research remain preliminary, there is no consensus on a best-practices, and good models for studying addiction and treatment are elusive.

There's an interview program on Chicago radio ("This Is Hell," WNUR, 9:00 - 1:00 Saturday morning; thisishell.com) which is trying to set up a discussion with one worker from each side of the gender divide to discuss similarities and differences. When a man hires a woman, I think patriarchy pulls towards a power differential. That makes sex work more risky for women. The work is less likely to be a fair market transaction and more likely to have at least some element of exploitation. Do these ideas ring true to other members?