Yesterday the world lost Hugh Hefner, age 91, the creator of Playboy magazine, the Playboy philosophy, the Playboy mansion, and Most Valuable Player in the kickoff of the sexual revolution.

Playboy was a significant influence on many a young man back in its heyday, because it really was about more than just the nudie pictures - although what pictures they were! Modestly posed (by today's standards) with natural bodies of all shapes and sizes appealingly free of surgical enhancement.

It was only in later years, facing competition from raunchier fare like Penthouse and Hustler, that Playboy's photos turned more to (as Archie Bunker once said) the "groinecological."

But apart from the Playmates, any given issue of Playboy (and we're recalling back to the 70's here) had much else to offer. Yes, the interviews and articles really were top notch and not just filler. And for those of us who were into cartoons, Playboy was a little slice of heaven. The creepy stylings of Gahan Wilson, the exquisite line work of Shel Silverstein, Sokol, Rodriguez, and many more. And the delightful Mad-ness (pun fully intended) of "Little Annie Fanny" by Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder.

We haven't looked at a current issue of Playboy in decades, but our fond memories linger on. And so we feel the loss of Hugh Hefner with genuine sadness as another little piece of a more innocent past flickers out.



Last post for the KING OF THE SEX REVOLUTION. PURA VIDA

HUGER than life has passed on to a HUGER playpen 

At 91 years old the King Playboy has moved on. The man that was on the front-end of revolution that would piss off most if not all wives and old bitty's. Encourage men to find ingenious hiding places for his publications and some to skim money from the family budget to afford same publications. And give young men a pictorial feast into manhood. When they found their fathers stash!

 

Hugh Hefner built an empire off of sex, beauty and jokes. Oh yeah, some of the articles were pretty good too! I seem to remember that of the years I subscribed I did read some of them. At least that is what I told my wife.  

 

He was a pioneer with a great business head on his shoulders. View several of his interviews here.

 

Rest in piece, I mean peace, amigo!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

                       Hurricane Overload or News abuse?

 

Enough already! How many times must we sit through the same news footage? The 'brave' news reporters (weather-people?) basking in their 15 minutes of fame. But with reruns and reruns I should say 4 days of regurgitated footage. Of course they tell us that they are only doing these dangerous things so we don't have to. Who the hell would want to go out in a hurricane? Other than idiots and their offspring and close friends. The real sad thing is they expect us to believe their bullshite. When most of us, or at least those of us with a brain, know that they will use this 'bravery' in their next contact negotiations to flood their bank accounts with higher than deserved salaries. OPEN THE DAMS!!

 

Don't get me wrong. I know that Harvey and Irma were terrible natural disasters. I have a sister and colleagues that live in Florida that chose to ride out the storm there and by the grace of God made it through with minimal damage. Of course minimal in a hurricane still means that your life has been rudely interrupted and rebuilding material things must be at the top of your daily priorities for sometime to come. 

 

Let's face it. Three to four days of wall-to-wall coverage is seriously over the top. I live in Costa Rica and the three TV stations I get out of Florida was running many of the same stories on day four that was shown on day two. And here's the kicker. Many of the residents had no power and if they did have power they already had a front row seat! 

What's wrong with the first day being 24 hour coverage and then simply news flashes from time to time or maybe a 15 minute update every 2-3 hours. After all I don't think the hurricane is going to run away without saying an extended goodbye. However, this would reduce the overall marketability of the 'brave' meteorologists and instead of an additional $50,000 per new contact year they may have to settle for only $25,000 more. The mean salary for a meteorologists was $90,860 per year and that was in 2011!! 

Now I ask you. How much do you really believe that these 'brave' people have or will contribute to the relief efforts? **I think I'll set up my own relief fund for the boring repetition that they put me through.**   

 

** Contributions excepted in US Dollars only. No colonies please.

                                                                    

 

 

  

                            September 15th 1821

This Friday Costa Rica along with Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador celebrate their independence from Spain. The festivities actually start on the 14th when the Torch of Freedom is taken from Guatemala to Cartago. (this was the capital of Costa Rica at the time independence was declared)

 

Then the REAL party begins. All the TV stations pause at 6 pm and the entire country sings the national anthem. Waving flags as many eyes fill with tears and faces are plastered with broad smiles and white teeth beam brightly. Tico's ( Male CR) and Tica's ( Female CR) are very patriotic and they burst with pride. Why shouldn't they be. Costa Rica is lauded by many as the most advanced third world country. 

 

The next day there are a plethora of parades and dances and singing and eating and eating. I have mentioned before that Costa Rican's love to eat. Don't get me started on the different dance types. salsa, mambo, merengue just to name a few. At my age watching the younger people dance these reminds me that I too use to have flexibility, stamina and relentless energy. However, I accept the fact that if I tried them today I can count on 2 weeks in traction in a hospital ward where my roommates don't speak English. How do you say bedpan in Spanish?

 

There is one drawback. By law no alcohol sales on the 15th till after 3 pm. This was an issue till I got use to it. Now I just join the mobs at the stores the afternoon of the 14th to stock up and watch the store managers show me their broad smiles and beaming white teeth. I think they are singing also........under their breath.  

 

So this Friday my wife and I will spend the day in San Jose with some of the family celebrating and eating and eating. Did I mention that they love to eat in this country?

                                                                 

                                    Traditional dress. Flowing skirts 

                                                and peasant attire

 

                                 Don Williams 

                          05-27-1939     09-08-2017

                                                           RIP DON

                                                                                          

                          Travel Time in Costa Rica

We are preparing for our 16th anniversary. So it's time to take a little time away from the day to day and head to the beach to clear the cobwebs and just relax by the pool and Pacific ocean. We will stay in a nice hotel that is all inclusive so good food and plenty of tasty drinks will flow freely. The establishment also has a night club. But at our age we will be doing more people watching than cha cha cha's. Although don't rule us out for a dance or two. Depends on how many of those tasty drinks we have. The old legs seem to become rubber like much faster these days.

 

We will be going by bus and we'll leave the driving to the professionals. Driving here is a real challenge. Most drivers here have the same motto: drive aggressively and hope the other guy gets out of the way. Besides, watching the scenery pass by while munching on snacks and/or napping is the only way to start your get away properly. That way you arrive ready to check in, throw down the bags and hit one of the 2 restaurants for lunch. Jump in the pool and wade up to the in pool bar and get revved up to try that Harvey wall banger and other assorted liquid treats. 

 

Horseback riding along with zip lining is also on the to-do list for day two. I'm sure we'll get in some more pool time or just take a walk on the beach. But keep in mind this is get away time so relaxing will be foremost on our minds. Oh yeah. Celebrating the anniversary will fit in somewhere also.  

                                                           

 

 

 

                   Shopping the Mercado Municipal

There is no other shopping experience that can compare to the one that you will have in this Central Market Place. There is one in every city. The one here in Alajuela covers an entire block. The one in San Jose is 3 times larger. But they are essentially the same in many ways. Let me explain.    

First and foremost is the smell. Fish, meat, vegetables and certain body odors permeate the air from the moment you step into the open air environment. Your first thought is 'Can this be opened more'!

In addition to the things listed above you can find shoes, backpacks, women's bags, trinkets........... I think you get my drift. You can also have a sit down breakfast or lunch. That is if you seek typical Costa Rica food. Beans and rice with pork or beef and a natural refreshment. All for a low price. I for one think that with the smells you must endure the price could be lower.

In short the Mercado Central is a small Walmart wanna be. Gas masks are optional.

 

                   5.3 Earthquake. Just another day             

We had another earthquake Thursday Sept. 1. That's our third one in the last week. Thank God there was no major damage from any of them. The last one that caused real damage was on Sept. 5 2012. That was a scary one.

I was working in a call center in Rohrmoser just outside of San Jose. It hit in the morning just before my first break. I was on the second floor on the phone with a customer when the building started shaking ferociously. I hastily told the customer I had to call him back. Threw down my headset and jumped up as the drop ceiling tiles began falling. As we started toward the exit we were stopped!! by a member of management and told to wait!!. Fortunately the shaking stopped seconds later and then the arsehole said we could exit down the steps. *more on this later*.

We all gathered in the street shaken with several of the women crying and all of us relieved to be out of that potential deathtrap. After 20 minutes we were told that we could go home if we wanted or return to work. About a third left and the rest of us returned to our work stations. While the maintenance crew started their cleanup we returned to the phones to continue business as usual.     

*Now about the arsehole. I wrote an email to the HR dept. and explained in no uncertain terms that if ANYONE ever tried to stop me again under these conditions he/she just had a bad day as I would plow through them like the Tasmanian Devil! 

The two active volcanoes are a story for another day.

Now I shall return to just another day in paradise. Pura Vida