Short Shameful Confession:
I always mistake Boo Radley for Bo Diddly.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Shaving
OK, just so we're clear, this post is about sex toys, not shaving. I had a conversation recently where the topic of vibrators came up organically.
[We enter a Brookstone.]
I always get all the snappy lines when I re-tell a story, if you haven't happened to notice the pattern.
I recall this article about the semi-disposable razor as a thinly veiled vibrator, and end up driving to a supermarket to prove that I'm not making up wild stories.
Sure enough, the women's model has the vibrating bit in the handle, not the head of the shaver. Just a quick tip for those who want to avoid the embarrassment of a TSA officer pulling your vibrator out of your luggage. Or perhaps those who live with roommates or family. These things have plausible deniability.
We left the store without making a purchase.
Days later, I have an interesting discussion about Passion Parties, selling sensual products and sex toys in a model similar to the Tupperware Party. A friend has started doing this as a side-business and we discuss how different people have different comfort levels in that situation. It's basically aimed at women, and I really only see positives when it comes to people exploring and enhancing their sexuality with their partners.
Is it weird that I knew what all the products which were described to me were?
[We enter a Brookstone.]
Me: Oh, look, they sell vibrators here. [Yeah, that's what passes for me bringing things up organically]
She: No, those are massagers.
Me: OK, that might be a massager.
What the heck do you massage with that?
Me: And if that's a massager, why aren't they showing how it's used in the picture?
I always get all the snappy lines when I re-tell a story, if you haven't happened to notice the pattern.
I recall this article about the semi-disposable razor as a thinly veiled vibrator, and end up driving to a supermarket to prove that I'm not making up wild stories.
Sure enough, the women's model has the vibrating bit in the handle, not the head of the shaver. Just a quick tip for those who want to avoid the embarrassment of a TSA officer pulling your vibrator out of your luggage. Or perhaps those who live with roommates or family. These things have plausible deniability.
We left the store without making a purchase.
Days later, I have an interesting discussion about Passion Parties, selling sensual products and sex toys in a model similar to the Tupperware Party. A friend has started doing this as a side-business and we discuss how different people have different comfort levels in that situation. It's basically aimed at women, and I really only see positives when it comes to people exploring and enhancing their sexuality with their partners.
Is it weird that I knew what all the products which were described to me were?
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Urban Legend
There's always stories muttered about Japanese soldiers who didn't know WWII was over and fought on in remote places, but I always assumed they were urban legends. Not true.
Hiroo Onoda fought WWII until 1974 on an island in the Phillipines. Wow. Shoichi Yokoi lasted until 1972.
via The Engines of Our Ingenuity
Friday, October 26, 2007
Meet The Parents
Thoughts on humorous poses to take when you're a guy meeting the parents/siblings/extended-family of someone you're dating/sleeping-with/engaged-to for the first time:
Overly touchy guy
Be just a bit too touchy with your gal. You don't need to act out sexually in front of the parents, but immediately be a hand-holder. Put your arm on her shoulder, then sliiide it down her back after a couple minutes. You're going for, "He's making me uncomfortable, but I can't say why," not, "Honey, get my shotgun."
Overly manly guy
Say things like "Heya." Handshake with slightly too much squeeze (not pain, just slightly too much). Project burliness even if you aren't burly. Use the back-slap or shoulder clap on other guys. Speak in a deep, gravely voice as much as possible.
Ambiguous sexuality guy
The goal here isn't to come off as gay, just project interests which are slightly skewed from traditional gender roles. Perhaps you could casually ask about a window treatment. Not in too much detail, and not obsessively, but just briefly and casually. See an heirloom-quality piece of furniture? Ask about the history behind it. Then go for a contrast and ask the dad about his hunting trophies. Some questions are innocuous except when contrasted with others. Transition from a curiosity about fabric patterns to last weeks football game to "cricket is the only game you get to take a break for tea, which is just plain civilized," to working on your car ("I love working with my hands"), to a desire to try knitting some day ("I love working with my hands").
Trying too hard guy
Laugh at every joke. Be overly polite. Dress a little too conservatively (think about wearing a tie). Act like you're a perfect gentleman in a 50's movie. "I'll have her back by 10pm sharp, sir." Try Too Hard.
Argumentative guy
Be easy going until the opportunity presents itself to disagree. Then disagree, and don't let go. Argue your position zealously. Too zealously. Don't compare anyone to Hitler, but do use some other well-known or obscure Nazi. "I'm those news reports were good enough to make Leni Riefenstahl proud!" The key here is to be on the edge of offensive while remaining outwardly friendly
Just some ideas. Any others?
Overly touchy guy
Be just a bit too touchy with your gal. You don't need to act out sexually in front of the parents, but immediately be a hand-holder. Put your arm on her shoulder, then sliiide it down her back after a couple minutes. You're going for, "He's making me uncomfortable, but I can't say why," not, "Honey, get my shotgun."
Overly manly guy
Say things like "Heya." Handshake with slightly too much squeeze (not pain, just slightly too much). Project burliness even if you aren't burly. Use the back-slap or shoulder clap on other guys. Speak in a deep, gravely voice as much as possible.
Ambiguous sexuality guy
The goal here isn't to come off as gay, just project interests which are slightly skewed from traditional gender roles. Perhaps you could casually ask about a window treatment. Not in too much detail, and not obsessively, but just briefly and casually. See an heirloom-quality piece of furniture? Ask about the history behind it. Then go for a contrast and ask the dad about his hunting trophies. Some questions are innocuous except when contrasted with others. Transition from a curiosity about fabric patterns to last weeks football game to "cricket is the only game you get to take a break for tea, which is just plain civilized," to working on your car ("I love working with my hands"), to a desire to try knitting some day ("I love working with my hands").
Trying too hard guy
Laugh at every joke. Be overly polite. Dress a little too conservatively (think about wearing a tie). Act like you're a perfect gentleman in a 50's movie. "I'll have her back by 10pm sharp, sir." Try Too Hard.
Argumentative guy
Be easy going until the opportunity presents itself to disagree. Then disagree, and don't let go. Argue your position zealously. Too zealously. Don't compare anyone to Hitler, but do use some other well-known or obscure Nazi. "I'm those news reports were good enough to make Leni Riefenstahl proud!" The key here is to be on the edge of offensive while remaining outwardly friendly
Just some ideas. Any others?
Thursday, October 25, 2007
I now have 65 facebook friends, almost halfway to Dunbar's number (150 for the non-link followers). Who knew I knew this many people on-line? Much more successful for me than Friendster ever was. Or MySpace (Flashing unicorns?! Who thinks flashing unicorns is a good idea?! It's like web design in 1996! And your music! I don't want to listen to this damn song!).
I've added people (in or fresh out of college) with 500+ friends. Guess they never heard of Dunbar.
It's a useful way to keep in touch with people, I have to say. I can read my news feed and see what people are up to, status-wise (oh crap, isn't that what twitter is?! As longs as it's relationship-based, it seems to make sense) and 'interaction with other friends'-wise. I've noticed a generation gap, though. My college-era friends aren't joining (or perhaps all conspired to ignore my friend requests!!!), and the people I keep in touch with on-line around my age tend to do so via email rather than facebook.
That might be the thing: I want to have a single point of contact, and I default to my Google/Gmail account for that. A slightly different generation is viewing their facebook account as the center of their on-line identities. It's where their pictures, video, relationships, and public interactions are stored. OK, that said, it was an invite from my mother which finally got me on facebook...
My annoyances. :-)
I've added people (in or fresh out of college) with 500+ friends. Guess they never heard of Dunbar.
It's a useful way to keep in touch with people, I have to say. I can read my news feed and see what people are up to, status-wise (oh crap, isn't that what twitter is?! As longs as it's relationship-based, it seems to make sense) and 'interaction with other friends'-wise. I've noticed a generation gap, though. My college-era friends aren't joining (or perhaps all conspired to ignore my friend requests!!!), and the people I keep in touch with on-line around my age tend to do so via email rather than facebook.
That might be the thing: I want to have a single point of contact, and I default to my Google/Gmail account for that. A slightly different generation is viewing their facebook account as the center of their on-line identities. It's where their pictures, video, relationships, and public interactions are stored. OK, that said, it was an invite from my mother which finally got me on facebook...
My annoyances. :-)
- Email notifications are purposefully obtuse. What I mean is, if someone sends me a facebook message, I get an email notification (which I've purposefully turned on) of that fact. But I don't get the content of the message! I can understand maybe limiting it to the first 100 characters (if they want to limit it), but following a link to read a "me too" note is a pain in the butt.
- Friend sorting. I don't mean I want to sort my friends by importance, but I do want the option of sorting them by other means. Order they joined facebook? Order that we became facebook friends? How about number of "mutual friends" which would provide me with a list of the people I'm most connected to socially? How about finding people in my home network (Orange County, CA), who I share the most mutual friends with, but who aren't currently my friend?!
- Third party applications. Well, I already blogged about that. I don't use any. No pink ribbon. No super-poke. No jedi/ninja/clown/sith/pirate/mime battles. I want my personal information shared with as few people as possible.
- It's not Google. I'm annoyed that Google can't get it together enough to integrate their numerous services in a way that lets me do all this in Google instead of facebook.
Monday, October 22, 2007
SSC 4
Short Shameful Confession:
When I'm chatting on-line with someone and I sense that they're answering questions I ask by looking up answers on Google, I start thinking up questions to ask, not because I want the answers, but because I want to teach them a lesson.
When I'm chatting on-line with someone and I sense that they're answering questions I ask by looking up answers on Google, I start thinking up questions to ask, not because I want the answers, but because I want to teach them a lesson.
Dancing Dissonance
Jerry Jordan was covering for Shesha Marvin at yesterday's OC Swing Sunday classes. I wish I'd remembered in time to make the beginner lesson. It would have been priceless to see Jerry teaching a swing-out with a rock-step at the beginning.
The lead-and-follow class was slanted more toward swing-out technique than Shesha and Nikki's classes. Well, what little I've seen of their classes, anyway.
The cool content was the Intermediate and Intermediate Shadow Charleston classes.
Swing-out from closed
The "AJ" swing-out
This was a swing-out where the leads release the left hand during 3-a-4, and the follows hijacked by sliding under the lead's extended right arm (or ducking under). Follows kept the left hand in the standart location on the shoulder, and slid the right hand under the leads right shoulder to clasp it from both sides. Ended in right-to-left.
Rotational rock-step to a sit-dip on 5, spinning out on 6-7, connecting by 8
Swing-out with outside free-spin, leads kick-step with right leg on 7-8 to set up Cross-Kicks
Cross-Kicks
Cross-Kicks with release (kick-step, kick-step, kick-step in circle and back in to cross-kick position)
In handshake, rock-step, kick
Rock-step, inside turn to rag-doll (follow's back into lead's chest for dip), pop up into
Shadow Charleston
Follow Turn
Follow half-turn, Lead Turn to right into lead-in-front Tandem
Dusseldorfer (bring follow around to standard tandem, weight on right foot on 8
Rock-step kick (left), into chase
Right side is kick-cross with upright feel
Rock-Step kick-cross
Rock-Step skip, skip, badump (jump-land)
Tuck-Turn from Chase position (Leads rock-step right, release left hand, end in handshake, fake footwork)
Nice!!!
Especially liked the outside free-spin to cross-kicks transition.
The lead-and-follow class was slanted more toward swing-out technique than Shesha and Nikki's classes. Well, what little I've seen of their classes, anyway.
The cool content was the Intermediate and Intermediate Shadow Charleston classes.
Swing-out from closed
The "AJ" swing-out
This was a swing-out where the leads release the left hand during 3-a-4, and the follows hijacked by sliding under the lead's extended right arm (or ducking under). Follows kept the left hand in the standart location on the shoulder, and slid the right hand under the leads right shoulder to clasp it from both sides. Ended in right-to-left.
Rotational rock-step to a sit-dip on 5, spinning out on 6-7, connecting by 8
Swing-out with outside free-spin, leads kick-step with right leg on 7-8 to set up Cross-Kicks
Cross-Kicks
Cross-Kicks with release (kick-step, kick-step, kick-step in circle and back in to cross-kick position)
In handshake, rock-step, kick
Rock-step, inside turn to rag-doll (follow's back into lead's chest for dip), pop up into
Shadow Charleston
Follow Turn
Follow half-turn, Lead Turn to right into lead-in-front Tandem
Dusseldorfer (bring follow around to standard tandem, weight on right foot on 8
Rock-step kick (left), into chase
Right side is kick-cross with upright feel
Rock-Step kick-cross
Rock-Step skip, skip, badump (jump-land)
Tuck-Turn from Chase position (Leads rock-step right, release left hand, end in handshake, fake footwork)
Nice!!!
Especially liked the outside free-spin to cross-kicks transition.
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