Only in Barcelona

S is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. He's a true Catalan, born and raised in Girona. We met one evening at a reform synagogue here in BCN. He's not Jewish, but he has Jewish ancestors who converted to Christianity during the Inquisition, and he's decided to try and learn about his family's roots. A few weeks ago, I hung out with S and his partner, R, a soft-spoken muscular American who mentioned that he was a movie director. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to ask what type of director on that occasion - the conversation just seemed to drift toward other things I guess. At any rate, this evening I met up with S and R at R's apartment in Barrio Gotico, one of the most beautiful and interesting sections of the old part of BCN. WOW was this an apartment! 240 sq meters, hard wood floors, chic furniture, a luxury guest room, zebra skin rugs and pillows, original paintings and sculptures from all over the world... Yes, R is one of the world's most famous gay pornographers. He shoots movies in multiple continents and obviously does quite well for himself. He told me a bit about the 'ins and outs' of the gay porn industry, quite a fascinating world of its own. Sounds like his job comes with its share of 'stiff' challenges, but seeing his apartment made me question whether I was in the right business -- if only there was as much demand for scholarly works on immigration as there is for...