6 posts tagged “sex”

The New York Times has an obsession with sex. Not hot, erotic, passionate sex. Rather, animal sex. Survival of the species sex. First they wrote about caretakers in the China Panda Sanctuary showing pandas in the zoo "panda porn" to teach them how to mate, then it was the evolution of duck genitalia, complete with graphic descriptions of the duck penis. Today, it was about poor Lonesome George, the bachelor tortoise living single since 1971 on the Galápagos Islands, possibly the last male of his species.

But what does this have to do with grad school?

First, there has to be a grad student who devotes her life to the duck phallus. A person who has watched countless duck copulations and knows duck sex inside and out. That would be behavioral ecologist and post doctoral researcher Patricia Brennan. Yes, yes, her work has made serious contributions to the field of evolutionary biology, but a career path as an expert in duck penises? Well, I guess they do say that specialization is the only path to success in academia.

Then there is Lonesome George's Girlfriend '93. The poor graduate student from Switzerland named Sveva Grigoini who masterbated Lonesome George many times in order to examine and document his virility. According to the article, she has had better luck with other male tortoises. I wonder how Lonesome George felt about that. But who cares about Lonesome George? THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE TO DO TO GET THE DAMN PHD!!! Always the silent researcher who does all the dirty work and gets no credit. Sveva I hope you at least graduated!

With the insurgence of erotic magazines across elite university campuses, the question has come up everywhere: What is the difference between art and porn? To me, the difference is the idea. The artist must transcend beyond the implicit objectification, the implied violence, and project a concept of meaning and thought to its audience that is separate from the image itself.

Below is a picture from the recent Dolce & Gabanna gang rape advertisement controversy. D&G claim that it is ART. Spain and Italy obviously disagree, and have subsequently banned the ad from their countries. D&G now cries censorship.

Dolce & Gabbana Men's Ad

Maybe this is what I see from the photo: Bunch of gay men trying to rob a woman for her FABULOUS shoes. Is this art? More like a perfect example of mixing sex and violence in marketing. So so cliched. D&G shouldn't be banned for inciting violence against women, they should be banned for lacking originality. Below is another unoriginal fashion contribution by D&G. But like the movie 300, sometimes an ab is just an ab....

Dolce & Gabbana Men's Ad

Show us a sign.
Submitted by the roo.

I'll show you TWO!

Warning Sign in China

Japan Metro Priority Seats

4 comments

I exchanged DNA with three individuals today: two girls and a guy. It was definitely an erotic experience. For two hours we thouorghly exhausted all of our five senses, and I was quite satiated at the end. But we didn't use any protection, and now I am beginning to feel some regret and worry. I mean, how much do I really know these people?

Doing dimsum is definitely one of the most exhilarating experiences. Talk about food porn. You scout it, you covet it, you hunt it down and you devour it. Then you get more. On top of that, you do it as a group. It's like having one big food orgy fest. But in this day and age, when there are so many infectious diseases going around, everytime I share a Chinese meal with friends where we all dip our chopsticks into the same dishes, I always ponder.... how much do I really trust their personal lives to share saliva with them?

Of all Chinese food, dimsum is the WORST because there are so many small dishes. Usually in a typical Chinese meal you have a master utensil for each dish. But when you are doing dimsum, you have like 20-30 little tapas coming and going from your table. If you ask for a master utensil for each one, the waiters will KILL YOU (or spit in your food, same thing). Talk about social pressure.

There is essentially a base system to having dimsum, just like the path toward sex. So before committing to a dimsum restaurant, I recommend knowing what you are getting yourself into. Because there is no turning back.

The Three Bases of DimSum:

1. First Base: Egg tarts, sesame buns, or dumplings. Any individually contained unit of food is a casual encounter. Yeah, your chopsticks might touch as you wrestle for that last piece of crystal shrimp dumpling, but it's just flirting and no harm done.
2. Second Base: Pork spare ribs, sticky rice in lotus leaf, bbq chicken feet, turnip cakes. Your chopsticks, my chopsticks, it's getting intimate and exploratory, but we really haven't crossed that threshold yet. It's a sensual exchange, but portions are still relatively clean.
   
3. Third Base: Sweet tofu soup, thousand year old egg porridge, mango pudding. Dirty, wet, and sloppy. We are going all the way. The waiter is sick of giving us extra bowls and we are just going to stick all our spoons in there. Yeah, there are going to be a few awkward moments and a few hesitations, but your stomach has completely taken over your brain, and the only desire is instant gratification.

PS: Thx for all your comments^_^ Sweet lotus seed paste buns for everyone!

It's interesting that since the dawn of modernity and free love, men still have not perfected the art of the pick-up. We have made great strides in science, medicine, and standards of living, but has there really been any progress on the ever so dreaded courtship rituals?

So the story goes: I was on my way home from work, willing myself invisible as usual on the subway. About 4 stops from where I get off, a guy from across the train yelled to me,

"Do you know you have a very pretty face?"

"What?" (You can see me? I must not have been concentrating hard enough.)

"You have a very pretty face."

"Ugh, thanks!" (But why did you have to yell so now everyone is staring at me?)

[moments pass by...]

"I just wanted to let you know, so you don't think it's weird that I'm staring at you."

"Ugh, okay." (If you rob me, I now have witnesses.)

"If I have my sketch pad with me, I would draw you right now."

"Oh, ha ha..." (eyes shift nervously)

[more uncomfortable moments...]

"Have you ever posed as a model?"

"Ugh, no." (I know artists, and you DO NOT look like an artist.)

"Would you like to?"

"Oh no, I'm very busy." (I know models and I DO NOT look like a model.)

"Will you call me?"

"What?" (Saved just in time by the arrival of my stop.)

Maybe it's a matter of personal preference, but for me subtlety and charm always outweigh williness and seediness. It was a nice moment, but I will file this away along with my other misbegotten courtship episodes. *sigh* I so wanted the cryogenics one to work...

Perhaps it is the rituals in of themselves that is the problem. With the popularization of online dating services, speed dating, lunch clubs, etc, the intent is to lessen the anxiety and work associated with the courtship process. But honestly, does it really work like that? I think while these things increase our chances of success by enlarging the pool of potential contacts, the courtship ritual is still the inevitable circle of fire we all have to jump through. I guess you just hope it gets less dreadful.

PS: I spoke about the experience with a friend of mine who has a successful history picking up girls on the train, and he made a good point. No matter what your strategy is, you need to establish legitimacy and context. What he does is he chats briefly to set a good impression, and then gives the girl his business card. She can check him out to make sure he's not a psycho-killer, and they ALWAYS call/email him back. Man he's good. (9/27/06)

NOVA: Einstein's Big Idea

Yeah, so we know Einstein was a player. But can an equation be sexy? Last night (or this morning) I watched the PBS/NOVA special on Einstein's E=mc^2 titled Einstein's Big Idea. It is a historical documentary on the scientific milestones that laid the foundation for Einstein's derivation of E=mc^2.

The special takes a path dependent approach to understanding the famous equation - what does it stand for, how did it come about, why then, and its impacts. The historical background is pretty obvious, most people who have taken a good Physics course know the history. But what really struck me was the QUALITY of the documentary, both in its sophisticated narrative structure as well as its smart and contemporary style of storytelling. If I ever have children this is exactly what I would want them to watch in the classrooms. Bravo PBS and NOVA, bravo!

Man, the DVD cover is really ugly, which is ironic consider how "sexy" the content of the documentary is. I tried to count the number of sexual innuendos but lost count half way through. The documentary was very instructive on an educational level, but also tantalizing and engaging for an older audience. Yeah, there were a few cheesy moments and a few things could be tweaked, but they were a good laugh and I am very impressed.

Things I particularily enjoyed:

• Shrewed account of the dynamics of the creative enironments. Anyone who knows the truth behind the genius myth knows how important this is, yet this is a gray area with lots of production discretion. Great job.
• Gossip factor. Yes, it can be done with style. Read New York magazine.
• Cognizance of gender and racial accountability. There is a huge difference between being PC and being intelligent. This is the latter.