Bettina Wolff (wife of former German president Christian Wolff) is waging war on Google to try to dissociate herself from a rumor that she was once a prostitute.
You can read about it here:
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/bettina-wulff-prostitute-autocomplete-puts-google-in-hot-water-20120919-265i4.html Continue reading
This is just a quick post to provide a link to an article in the UK Guardian in response to Fifty Shades of Grey by a woman who has recently published a book on the subject of her BDSM lifestyle.
I think that it makes for good reading and provides some balance to the view of BDSM created by Fifty Shades of Grey.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/aug/25/fifty-shades-submissive-sophie-morgan
John.
Ok, it’s time to talk about Fifty Shades of Grey.
Note: this post talks about BDSM and actual experiences of this fantasy.
If you are not comfortable reading about these concepts then please don’t continue reading this post.
I have stayed away from this topic since Fifty Shades exploded into popular culture because I haven’t been clear in my head about how I feel about the books and their portrayal of BDSM (bondage, discipline, sadism, masochism). Last night though I had a conversation with a friend that set it all in perspective for me.
As with any work of fiction there will be people who love Fifty shades, people who hate it, and people who just don’t care much.
What has become clear to me though is that regardless of Fifty Shades merit (be that literary quality, BDSM accuracy, psychological etc) it has tapped into something profound in the psychology of many women. A book doesn’t need to be great, or even good to inspire people, get them thinking, and open new doors for them. Lets face it, no-one is actually going to live out the story of Fifty Shades in real life (if for no other reason than young self-made billionaires are hard to come by and are pretty hotly contested property).
But this is the point. Fifty Shades, like all erotica, is about fantasy and what it inspires in you, not about slavish re-creation.
I haven’t written anything about virginity for quite a while, so I thought that I would post a link to an article that I stumbled across today:
http://www.mamamia.com.au/relationships/i-lost-my-virginity-to-a-male-escort/
“Uninterested in a drunken encounter with some stranger from a pub, I decided to use an escort agency. I didn’t want to have to explain the situation. I was shy and embarrassed that I hadn’t had sex at 22. As silly as it sounds, I felt I needed to have sex to grow up, to let go of this unknown yearning inside me that I thought about day in, day out.”
From my years as an escort, I think that this woman’s experience is quite typical. The nervousness, the yearning, and most of all the desire for something mature and rational, not just driven by emotion, or getting drunk and grabbing the first available guy.
I think that this article is, on the whole a really good example of what the experience of a date with a male escort is like.
John.
Really good sex (more than just a one off) doesn’t just happen. It requires four things …
If I had to choose, then I would always choose summer over winter. Warmth, light, longer days. It’s just good to be alive in summer. So as the weather has warmed up I have been building up a new exercise regime. A big part of it is cycling. I have been an avid cyclist and triathlete for much of my life, but as life goes on work and other things tend to get in the way. Not to mention the fact that in the 25 years that I have been cycling seriously on the road, the levels of traffic have increased hugely. So there have been plenty of disincentives to pulling on the skin suit and cranking out some miles.
One of the (many) good things about living where I now do (at Sydney Olympic Park) is the great roads and relatively small amounts of traffic.
So today I hopped on my (push) bike and did a couple of laps of the village. I have no idea what the distance was, or how fast I did it, but I certainly enjoyed getting out in the fresh air and pushing myself physically.
Cycling is great exercise, it’s low impact and high intensity cardiovascular. It’s also perfect for doing High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). From the Wikipedia article:
an exercise strategy alternating periods of short intense anaerobic exercise with less-intense recovery periods. HIIT is a form of cardiovascular exercise. Usual HIIT sessions may vary from 9–20 minutes. These short, intense workouts provide improved athletic capacity and condition, improved glucose metabolism, and improved fat burning.
My partner has used HIIT with great success to lose over 20 kgs. And while I don’t need to lose weight particularly, I will most certainly benefit from keeping my heart and lungs in great shape.
So, I am now relaxing in that delicious afterglow that only comes from full exertion. Feeling alive and potent and full of potential!
John.
A couple of weeks ago I decided to shave myself below the waist line (no not the legs – mine are already naturally almost hair free). It’s almost the norm of course for women to do this, but most guys don’t give it much though. I haven’t for many years, but decided it was time for something different.
The results of more smooth skin available to be touched was in a word fabulous for me and generated significant complements too! So all in all it was a positive change. Then the re-growth, itching, and ingrown hairs began. I hadn’t forgotten about this, but it focused my attention. The new style was such a success that I want to keep it, so the logical solution was to get serious and make it “permanent” with laser removal.
While looking around the SBS “on demand” website today I came across a documentary called “Turn Me On – The History Of The Vibrator”. You can find it here:
http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/2266589445/Turn-Me-On:-The-History-Of-The-Vibrator
Sadly, it is only available for another 12 days, but I dare say that some googling will find it online somewhere else. It is an amusing look at how and why the vibrator was invented, mixed with a tour of recent offerings from the sex toy industry.
It’s worth a watch on a Sunday afternoon.
John.
Well, the months are just flying by and the year really seems to be escaping. This is just a quick post to say hello.
Firstly, the restoration of my new bike (a Triumph Dayton 995i) progresses well. The bike is currently off at the mechanics getting a thorough service and a set of new tires. Parts that I can’t find online are also being procured from Triumph in the U.K. As expected it’s taking time. However the bike passed it’s mechanical health check and is looking good. I have most of the panel repairs done and it is getting close to being ready for re-assembly. Very exciting!
With spring heading our way I have started working on some projects up at my weekend hideaway preparing to make the most of the next growing season. Some new fruit trees have been added to the orchard (apples and a pecan), new garden beds place ready for growing produce over summer, and a new fence is going up on the west side of the property to give the very eager wisteria somewhere to grow and provide much needed shade on the west side of the shed. Basically it’s all happening!
John.
The Sydney Morning Herald has an article that caught my eye online today:
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/of-mice-and-men-male-pill-gets-closer-20120816-24biz.html
At first glance I thought “wow, that’s great”. But on reflection I am not so sure that the statement in the article:
hormone-free contraceptive drugs for men have been elusive, contributing to high rates of unplanned pregnancies across the world, especially among teenagers.
is accurate or useful. It implies that if a male contraceptive drug is available then the rates of unwanted pregnancies across the world would drop significantly (especially among teenagers).
Why? Well, there exists now in the world a form of male contraception that is very cheap, very reliable, widely available, can be used at a moments notice, can be stored for long periods, requires no prescription, is immediately reversible and also protects against the majority of STIs.
It’s called a condom. And if used consistently and with just a little bit of care, then it is very, very effective. I know this from personal experience.
So, condoms are easy to use, readily available etc etc. And yet women have unplanned pregnancies. How is a male pill, that will require (I assume, since it’s not stated in the article), regular doses, a trip to the doctor for prescriptions, and (lets not forget) honesty of the part of the male going to increase the likelihood of effective contraception?
Frankly I can’t see how. My guess is that the results will be quite the opposite. I can hear the refrain now … “don’t worry darling, I’m on the pill, it will be fine”.
I would expect an increase in unplanned pregnancies, as well as a rise in the incidence of STIs.
Lets face it, there is very little incentive for men to care about contraception outside of a stable relationship. This news makes me think that the money spent on the research would be better spent on education.
John.