text:
Camelot: The Lusty Month of May
my blog: May is National Masturbation Month
An acquaintance pointed out this song from the 1960 musical and it seemed to have a connection to this month dedicated to promoting pleasure as normal and healthy. Enjoy.
Tra la, it's May, the lusty month of May
That lovely month when everyone goes blissfully astray
Tra la, it's here, that shocking time of year
When tons of wicked little thoughts merrily appear
It's May, it's May, that gorgeous holiday
When every maiden prays that her lad will be a cad
It's mad, it's gay, a libelous display
Those dreary vows that everyone takes, everyone breaks
Everyone makes divine mistakes, the lusty month of May
Whence this fragrance wafting through the air?
What sweet feelings does its scent transmute?
Whence this perfume floating everywhere?
Don't you know it's that dear forbidden fruit
Tra la la la la, that dear forbidden fruit, tra la la la la
Tra la la la la, tra la, tra la, tra la la la la la la la la la
It's May, the lusty month of May
That darling month when everyone throws self-control away
It's time to do a wretched thing or two
And try to make each precious day, one you'll always rue
It's May, it's May, the month of yes you may
The time for every frivolous whim, proper or im
It's wild, it's gay, a blot in every way
The birds and bees with all of their vast amorous past
Gaze at the human race aghast
It's May, it's May, the month of great dismay
When all the world is brimming with fun wholesome or un
Uploaded on Aug 20, 2007 by StarsEyez
Wikipedia: Camelot (musical)
Camelot is a musical by Alan Jay Lerner (book and lyrics) and Frederick Loewe (music). It is based on the King Arthur legend as adapted from the T. H. White novel The Once and Future King. The original 1960 production, directed by Moss Hart and orchestrated by Robert Russell Bennett and Philip J. Lang, ran on Broadway for 873 performances, winning four Tony Awards and spawning several revivals, foreign productions, and the 1967 film Camelot. The original cast album was America's top-selling LP for 60 weeks. The musical has become associated with the Kennedy Administration, which is sometimes referred to as the Camelot era.
Wikipedia: Camelot (film)
Camelot is a 1967 film adaptation of Camelot by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. Richard Harris stars as King Arthur, Vanessa Redgrave as Guenevere, and Franco Nero as Lancelot.
The Cobra's Web Site - Nov 11/2006
The Lusty Month of May-o by Sharon C. McGovern
The musical Camelot is a cautionary tale about fulfilled wishes. ... [Lancelot catches] the eye of Queen Guenevere. Though fond of her husband, she is drawn to the kingdom's most eligible bachelor. They inevitably become entangled in a legendary illicit romance. ... they virtually compel divine retribution. The impulse to act in defiance of moderation, the law, and sense is celebrated in "The Lusty Month of May." ... But don't be surprised in June when you have to face the music.
Posted by William Quincy Belle at 14:29 No comments:
Labels: music, Sex
May is National Masturbation Month
What? I don't remember that on my Hallmark calendar. Besides, isn't every month masturbation month? Rah, rah! Or is it raw, raw?
I'm sure you going to look at the title of this article and dismiss it as something silly or unimportant, but if you'll bear with me (bare with me?), I would like to tell the story of a screwed-up culture led by a Puritan tradition which vilifies any sex outside the confines of a monogamous marriage between a man and woman. Pleasure is a sin and sexual pleasure is a you're-going-to-burn-in-Hell-for-eternity sin. But let's not let put any undue pressure on children, and adults for that matter, about an integral part of the human experience.
Good Vibrations is a sex store in San Francisco founded in 1977 by sex therapist and educator Joani Blank. It was initially established with the goal of being a sex-positive and woman-centered alternative to the 'adult' bookstores of the time, Good Vibrations offered sex information and education, featured erotica and books about sexual health and pleasure, and pioneered the concept of the "sex-positive, clean, well-lighted place" to buy sex toys. (Wikipedia: Good Vibrations (sex shop): History)
Minnie Joycelyn Elders was the first African American and second woman to hold the position of Surgeon General of the United States, being appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1993. (Wikipedia: Joycelyn Elders: Career and Tenure as U.S. Surgeon General) Like many of the surgeons general before her, she was an outspoken advocate of a variety of health-related causes. She argued for an exploration of the possibility of drug legalization and backed the distribution of contraceptives in schools.
In 1994, she was invited to speak at a United Nations conference on AIDS. She was asked whether it would be appropriate to promote masturbation as a means of preventing young people from engaging in riskier forms of sexual activity, and she replied, "I think that it is part of human sexuality, and perhaps it should be taught." This remark caused great controversy and resulted in Elders losing the support of the White House. ... Elders was fired by President Clinton as a result of the controversy in December 1994.
In 1995, California sex advocate Dr. Carol Queen with the assistance of Good Vibrations, held the first National Masturbation Day on May 7 while declaring May masturbation month.
Surveys indicate that 90 per cent of North American men and 65 per cent of women masturbate, Queen notes, "yet masturbation continues to be maligned in our culture, censored from our education and scorned as the sexual expression of those who can't get a date.
"So much so that when the American Surgeon-General Joycelyn Elders endorsed the teaching of masturbation in high school sex-ed classes six years ago, she was fired by the Clinton administration.
"We gave our heads a shake and said it's about time we fought back. That's when we founded National Masturbation Day." (Toronto Star, May 20/2001: NMD: A touchy subject by John Karastamatis)
Good Vibrations: May is Masturbation Month
[I apologise to Good Vibrations for quoting their entire web page in full without prior permission but this was just too good to pass by.]
Good Vibrations began celebrating National Masturbation Month in 1995. Earlier that year, then-Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders was fired for saying that masturbation should be discussed as part of young peoples' sex education. We were astounded. It was one of the most sensible things we'd ever heard a government official say -- and it cost Elders her job! We started National Masturbation Month to raise awareness, and because we wanted to highlight the importance of masturbation for nearly everyone: it's safe, it's healthy, it's free, it's pleasurable and it helps people get to know their bodies and their sexual responses. Of all the kinds of sex people can have, masturbation is the most universal and important, yet few people talk about it freely -- worse, many people still feel it is "second best" or problematic in some way. National Masturbation Month lets us emphasize how great it is: it's natural, common and fun! This year's theme is "D.I.Y." Do it yourself! Nobody does it better!
Why May?
Because "the merry, merry month of May" has long been seen as symbolizing sexual awakening. Also, because "May" and "masturbation" both start with "M" -- it's nice and alliterative.
Why talk about masturbation?
Because many people still feel guilty about it, or feel they do it too much, or feel it's a second-best substitute for "real" sex. We think it's important to bring it out into the open and let people feel better about what they're doing -- and, for those who may not be doing it, we want to encourage it! Masturbation is, for many, the cornerstone to a healthy and good sex life. It isn't second-best -- it can give you the information and awareness you need to enjoy the rest of your sex life. Self love rules!
Why Masturbate?
* Because masturbation is immensely pleasurable, invigorating, rejuvenating and fun.
* Because sexual pleasure is each person's birthright.
* Because masturbation is the ultimate safe sex.
* Because masturbation is a joyous expression of self love.
* Because masturbation offers numerous health benefits including menstrual cramp relief, stress reduction, endorphin release, stronger pelvic muscles, reduction of prostate gland infection for men and resistance to yeast infections for women.
* Because masturbation is an excellent cardiovascular workout.
* Because each person is their own best lover.
* Because masturbation with a partner can be educational and hot.
* Because masturbation increases sexual awareness.
For these and many other reasons we celebrate National Masturbation Month and affirm the inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness and sexual pleasure!
History of the Masturbation Taboo
Almost everyone masturbates, but all too few of us are willing to admit to enjoying this simple pleasure -- mostly because of the taboo against masturbation in our society, which has its roots in historical misconceptions that have survived to the present day. Concerns about masturbation tend to fall into two general categories: that masturbation is dangerously wasteful or that it's immature. The notion that masturbation is wasteful springs from the widespread misconception that men have a finite allotment of sperm and that every ejaculation depletes precious semen, resulting in exhaustion and weakness. Although women don't produce semen, it was once believed that masturbation was similarly destructive and debilitating to them. The belief that masturbation is such a dangerous drain on energy that it can lead to enfeeblement, illness and ultimately insanity was so persistent in 18th, 19th and even 20th century Europe and America that treatments for preventing masturbation became something of an obsession.
Turn-of-the-century magazines featured advertisements for penile rings which were spiked on the inside so that if the wearer experienced an erection during the course of the night, he'd wake from the pain. Bondage belts, restraints, straitjackets, cauterizing irons and even clitoridectomy (the surgical excision of the clitoris) were all methods used to prevent young women from masturbating. American health reformers of the 19th century preached, as in these words from John Kellogg, that masturbation was "the vilest, the basest and the most degrading act that a human being can commit."
Although most men and women today are aware that masturbation isn't a "degrading act," many are still constrained by the notion that it's a selfish, immature activity or a second-rate substitute for partner sex. We live in a society in which sexual expression has always been legislated and restricted and the pursuit of pure pleasure is frequently condemned as selfish and childish. A lot of people who consider themselves free of sexual hang-ups have simply rewritten the equation "sex is only good if it involves procreation" to "sex is only good if it involves two loving people." The fact that masturbation is a pleasurable end in itself gets short shrift in mainstream sex manuals, which focus on masturbation as a useful tool in the building of a better sex life with one's partner. While it's certainly true that masturbation provides valuable information about your own and your partners' sexual responses, masturbation is much more than a means to the exalted end of better partner sex. Masturbation is our first sexual activity, a natural source of pleasure that's available to us throughout our lives, and a unique form of creative self-expression. Each time you masturbate, you're celebrating your sexuality and your innate capacity for pleasure, so give yourself a hand!
Masturbation Today
While giving yourself pleasure may seem as natural as taking a breath, masturbation is by no means a widely accepted form of sexual activity. Today, in many parts of the world (including the U.S.) children are punished if they are caught masturbating, which can affect their sexuality for the rest of their lives. Adults in cultures across the globe are presented with heterosexual marriage as the only acceptable form of sexual expression. Masturbation is not honored as an important form of safer sex, much less as a way a person can love herself, learn about himself, or exercise, as one wonderful Chinese euphemism puts it, "self-comfort."
Masturbation can be a radical act, and the culture that suppresses masturbation may suppress many other personal freedoms as well. While celebrating National Masturbation Month and doing your part to bring self love out of the closet, keep in mind that erotic freedom is essential to true well-being, everywhere.
Sexual pleasure is each person's birthright. What? Really? Am I not supposed to be going to hell?
I'm saying that tongue in cheek but in all seriousness, since starting this blog and writing about various issues, I have been startled, no taken aback by the amount of misinformation and politicized B.S. being passed around as fact. We may pooh-pooh our ancestors for worshipping the sun as a god or some other superstitious nonsense; however I clearly see that we are no better off today with our extraordinary ignorance of the world and our adamant and misguided belief in our own misinterpretation of religious ideas.
The other end of the spectrum: the American Life League
The American Life League (ALL) is one of the largest pro-life organizations in the United States. Not only are they anti-abortion, they espouse a policy of abstinence until marriage and I mean abstinence from all sex. In my blog Planned Parenthood: addicting children to sex!!!, I describe in chilling detail how ALL is going after our bodies, trying to stop funding to Planned Parenthood, trying to stop all abortions, trying to stop sex education, and trying to stop contraception. In a jaw-dropping promotional video, ALL compares Planned Parenthood to your neighbourhood drug pusher attempting to get kids hooked on sex using masturbation as their "gateway drug". It is a stunning display of a puritanical mentality that would have all of us hiding shamefully in the closet.
Just imagine what would happen if Rick Santorum or Michele Bachmann or even the president of ALL, Judie Brown, somehow came to power. We would all be knocked back to the Dark Ages. We would be burning people at the stake, using blood-letting as a home remedy and putting chastity belts on girls. Am I exaggerating? Planned Parenthood gone. Legal abortions gone. Sex Education gone. Free condoms gone. Sex gone. It would truly be George Orwell's 1984 with its dystopian double speak and mind control. Your dalliances would be secretive, shameful, and under risk of discovery. ... No wait, that's right now!
Do we need sex education?
In my blog Sex Ed: Betty Dodson: educator, author, pro-sex feminist, I refer to a letter where the writer makes this startling admission: "I am 27 years old, never had an orgasm. I'm married 5 years with 2 kids."
In my postings Cindy Gallop: Make Love Not Porn and Book Review: Make Love Not Porn by Cindy Gallop, this self-professed New York cougar talks about her experiences of dating younger men whose sole source of sex education has been pornography. While some would immediately jump to the hasty conclusion that porn is bad, Ms. Gallop points out that the issue is not porn at all. "We all do it, yet we don't talk about it. Most parents are too embarrassed to teach their children about sex and talk to them about the issues surrounding it. ... Most countries around the world have not formalized and integrated sex education into the educational system and curriculum. ... hardcore porn has become, be default, the sex education of today."
How to teach kids about sex
One woman blogger is involved in her church with her son in a program about sex education which involved the handing out of condoms. Another woman blogger has had frank discussions not just about sex but relationships with her sons and has said she will allow sex under her roof so she has some control over the matter and that's better that them sneaking around. Those are two examples of the zillions of families out there trying to figure what to say to their kids... or hoping the whole issue will magically disappear.
The following reference web sites and authors who deal with sex education and covering, tying this to the month of May, masturbation.
my blog: Sex Ed: Scarleteen
This web site is an independent source of information about sex which was founded in 1998 by Heather Corinna. Presenting a "sex positive" resource with the tag line "Sex Ed for the Real World", this amazing site speaks frankly of every possible topic connected to sex and relationships. Staffed by Heather and a group of volunteers, the site is apparently viewed by tens of thousands of readers each day, as the site says, between the ages of 15 and 25.
my blog: Sex Ed: Sue Johanson
For those of you would are unfamiliar with the name, Ms. Johanson is a veritable institution in Canada and the United States in the area of sex education. Her informed, fact based approach to discussing the "final frontier" has garnered her accolades from many corners. She received Canada's highest honour in 2001, the Order of Canada.
Sue Johanson, born 1930, is a registered nurse, Canadian writer, speaker and sex educator. Her first real foray into media was a 14 year stint on the radio station Q107 in Toronto between 1984 and 1998. The Sunday Night Sex Show was dedicated to advice on sex and from 1985 onwards, a parallel show existed on the community access channel of Rogers cable. It became a national show on the Women's Television Network and was picked up by Oprah Winfrey's Oxygen Network in 2002. [sigh] Unfortunately, Sue retired from weekly broadcasting in 2008. Fortunately, her materials live on via the Internet and she does continue to lecture.
[I have a link to a video of Ms. Johanson, age 79, demonstrating with a dildo how to put a condom on using just your mouth.]
my blog: Sex Ed: Violet Blue
Ms. Blue is an author, blogger, sex educator and sex columnist. She has contributed to a number of publications over the years in various formats: a weekly sex column for the San Francisco Chronicle, podcasts, a video blog as well as a regular blog and a feature about porn for woman in the magazine O, The Oprah Magazine. She has written 11 books on various sex topics; edited 9 anthologies of erotica and a half a dozen audio books plus writes for, edits and manages several web sites. However she does work outside the area of sex itself by contributing tech articles for ZDNet and both writes for and edits her own tech blog called techyum. Forbes named her one of The Web Celeb 25 in 2007. A busy woman indeed.
my blog: Sex Ed: Dr. Laura Berman
Laura Berman is an American sex educator and therapist. She has made appearances in various media including The Today Show and Oprah Winfrey and also stars in a reality TV series called Sexual Healing on Showtime. With her sister, Jennifer Berman MD, she has co-authored a book called "FOR WOMEN ONLY: A Revolutionary Guide for Reclaiming your Sex Life". She heads The Berman Center in Chicago, "a specialized health center focused on women's and couples' sexual health".
In my other blogs about Sex Ed, I discovered that Sue Johanson recommends sex toys; Scarleteen discusses them and Violet Blue is pro-sex toy. Dr. Laura Berman is no exception. Her web site talks about how to select the best one and she has partnered with a company Pleasure Me Now to offer various toys to the public.
Some funny stuff: Slang Terms for Masturbation
We, and that is the collective we, have both an active imagination when it comes to euphemisms and metaphors coupled with an amusing sense of humour. Considering that of the sexes comes with different equipment, some expressions vary. We all know "jacking off" for guys but have you heard "jilling off" for the gals?
Men have "polishing the stick" while women have "buffing the box". "Getting in touch with yourself" and "being your own best friend" seem to be applicable to both sexes.
DirtySlang.Com: Male Masturbation Slang Terms
A big date with Rosy Palms
A date with Mrs. Palmer and her 5 slut daughters
Abusing the usual suspect
Shaking the hand of the self-employed
DirtySlang.Com: Female Masturbation Slang Terms
A Night in With the Girls
Hiking Through the Grand Canyon
Visiting the Magic Kingdom
Waking the Butterfly
My all time favourite for the ladies still has me guffawing out loud at my computer desk: Tiptoe Through the Two Lips
A month dedicated to self-love because sexual pleasure is each person's birthright. On the other hand (no joke intended), the American Life League and those associated with the far-right would have us abstain and hide this part of our being. I've said it before; I'll say it again: we are a confused society. We are ignorant and inexperienced and as a consequence guilt-ridden by a traditional puritanical streak dating back centuries. The Dark Ages indeed.
Prohibition failed to stop the use of alcohol. Abstinence does not stop people from having sex. Instead of trying to sweep the issue under the rug, we need to face it head-on. Minnie Joycelyn Elders, Surgeon General of the United States, may have been fired by President Bill Clinton for political reasons, but she will be vindicated in the long run as her ideas about sex education must prevail if we are to have a better society. You can run but you can't hide. After all, you can't hide from your own sexuality; you always have it with you.
I have written a number of articles on sex, pornography, women's issues, and politics. Consult the Site Map to browse my literary meanderings.
EmpowerHer - Apr 30/2010
May is National Masturbation Month By Stacy Lloyd
May 1 marks the first day of Nation Masturbation Month. If you didn't know this, you're not alone. The annual observance is not high profile.
Wikipedia: National Masturbation Day
National Masturbation Day (NMD) is an annual event celebrated on a day in May to protect the right to masturbate. The first National Masturbation Day was observed in 1995. Till 2001, NMD was celebrated on May 7, but in 2005 NMD was celebrated on May 28. Alongside NMD, the month of May is celebrated as the National Masturbation Month.
Wikipedia: Good Vibrations (sex shop)
Good Vibrations is a San Francisco-based corporation associated with the sex industry. It operates six retail stores (five in in the San Francisco Bay Area, and one in Brookline, MA); a mail-order business; an e-commerce website; a wholesale arm; and an erotic-video production company, Good Releasing.
A notable part of the store was the display of antique vibrators, which were initially developed as a treatment for "female hysteria". This became a tourist draw known as "the antique vibrator museum", which was listed by Frommer's in the category "Best Free Things to Do in San Francisco".
Wikipedia: Joycelyn Elders
Minnie Joycelyn Elders (born Minnie Lee Jones on August 13, 1933) is an American pediatrician and public health administrator. She was a vice admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the first African American appointed as Surgeon General of the United States. Elders is best known for her frank discussion of her views on controversial issues such as drug legalization and distributing contraception in schools. She was fired mid-term in December 1994 amidst controversy.
Wikipedia: Masturbate-a-thon
The Masturbate-a-thon is an event in which participants masturbate in order to raise money for charity and increase the public awareness and dispel the shame and taboos that exist about this form of sexual activity. During the past six years, the Masturbate-a-thon has raised over $25,000 for women's health initiatives and HIV prevention, education and treatment organizations, and has contributed to debates about safer sex and alternative safe methods of sexual expression. The event awards several honors for those who raise the most money as well as for multiple orgasms and endurance.
Wikipedia: Masturbation
Masturbation refers to the sexual stimulation of a person's genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism, providing sexual pleasure or orgasm in the absence of a partner. The act, when performed with a partner, is called mutual masturbation and is sometimes used as an alternative to sexual intercourse.
Wiktionary: Onanism
1. ejaculating outside the vagina during intercourse; (the performing of) coitus interruptus
2. masturbation
From the biblical name Onan: In the Book of Genesis, Onan, son of Judah, in fulfillment of the laws of levirate marriage was to impregnate his brother Er's widow, Tamar, in order to raise offspring from the union in his brother's name. In order to avoid raising descendants for his late brother, however, Onan spilled his semen on the ground when he went in to his brother's wife, so that he would not give offspring to his brother. (Genesis 38:9). Thus the word Onanism was coined, meaning ejaculating outside the vagina, or masturbation (because this also spills semen, rather than using it for procreation).
Wikipedia: Onan
Onan is a minor biblical person in the Book of Genesis Chapter 38, who was the second son of Judah. Like his older brother, Er, Onan died prematurely by Yahweh's will for being wicked.
Biblical account
After Onan's brother Er died, his father Judah told him to fulfill his duty as a brother-in-law to Tamar, by giving her offspring. Centuries later, in the days of Moses, this practice was formulated into a law of a Levirate marriage, where the brother of the deceased would provide offspring to the childless widow to preserve the family line.
However, when Onan had sex with Tamar, he disregarded this principle when he withdrew before climax and "spilled his seed (or semen) on the ground", since any child born would not legally be considered his heir. This he did several times, disregarding the principle of a Levirate union, and was accordingly sentenced to death by Yahweh for this wickedness. (Genesis 38:8-10)
A number of scholars maintain that the story does not refer to masturbation, but to coitus interruptus, and that the Bible does not claim that masturbation would be sinful.
The Boston Phoenix - May 27/2009
The original DIY, observed: Celebrating the safest of sex
We all know that masturbation is totally normal and healthy, but did you know that it's so ordinary that we start doing it before we even come out of the womb? True story! In Mary Roach's Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex (Norton, 2008), she tells readers about in-utero masturbation, apparently observed in a sonogram image by an Israeli doctor who in 1987 sent a letter to the Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine that was accompanied by pictures of a seven-month-old fetus "grasping his penis in a fashion resembling masturbation movements." Whoa.
Wikipedia: The Contest
"The Contest" is the 51st episode of the NBC sitcom, Seinfeld. The 11th episode of the fourth season, it aired on November 18, 1992. In the episode, George Costanza tells Jerry Seinfeld, Elaine Benes and Cosmo Kramer that his mother caught him unaware while he was masturbating. The conversation results in George, Jerry, Elaine and Kramer entering into a contest to determine who can go for the longest period of time without masturbating.
The episode was controversial when broadcast because NBC thought that masturbation was not a topic suitable for prime time television. As a result, the word "masturbation" is never used in the episode. Instead, the subject is described using a series of euphemisms, while the meaning of the subject is still made clear to the audience. The writer of the episode, Larry David, won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Comedy Series for his work on the episode. One euphemism used in the episode is "master of my domain", said by a character when still in the contest. It has become a catchphrase in popular culture, although it is not always used in reference to masturbation.
Uploaded by ishapiro1 on Jun 24, 2010
YouTube: 3D fetal ultrasound - amazing things fetuses do in the womb - Dr. I. Shapiro
"Life in 3D" -- Real-time 3D ultrasound ("4D") video showing what fetuses do in the womb: smiling, yawning, urinating, masturbating, kicking their co-twin and much more... The video clip was presented in The Second Philadelphia Prenatal Diagnosis Update Conference (organized by Drexel University College of Medicine, June 4, 2010) at the end of Dr. Shapiro's lecture on "3D ultrasound - gimmick or breakthrough?" The lecture was aimed to demonstrate the significant medical benefit of 3D ultrasound, but though this is the purpose of the examination, some amusement makes no harm. - Ultrasound and video editing -- Dr. Israel Shapiro, Haifa, Israel
Published on Dec 7, 2015 by TEDx Talks
YouTube: M. Joycelyn Elders: Controversial Views on Sex Education (5:03)
Posted by William Quincy Belle at 08:59 1 comment:
Labels: Sex
Erotic Stuff - April 28, 2015
photographer: unknown; model: Irina Shayk; animation by DarkAngelØne
Girls Love Good Innuendo Tumblr
Paul Maffi, photographer - Transmission Magazine Issue 2 Transparency; web site; Tumblr
Sweet Dreams by Denis Eutikhiev (b. 1971, Russia), Key West, FL (United States)
Miss You by Benoit Courti (b 1975), French photographer; web site
Funny Stuff - April 27, 2015
I wonder what the male equivalent is.
Later on, we find out why men help a woman with her chair.
"Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them."
-Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience and Other Essays
(most men and women)
Twitter: Angry Bombay Girl @shadymumbai
Ha, ha, ha. [stops to think] Hmmm, that may be more true than I think.
I found this reply to the above tweet: @CaptainArnab jokes on you, 20 years from now I won't be able to get it up so my wife will be fucking someone else ... Oh wait .. :)
Ooooo
Urban Dictionary: mimsy (n) the female genitalia
Anybody notice the subtle message? Women are dirty. The female sex organs are not clean. What a burden to put on women and girls.
Sting: If You Love Somebody Set Them Free
Free, free, set them free
If you need somebody
If you want someone
You can do the same
If you want to keep something precious
You got to lock it up and throw away the key
If you want to hold onto your possession
Don't even think about me
If you love somebody
If you love someone
If you love someone, set them free
Set them free
If it's a mirror you want
Just look into my eyes
Or a whipping boy
Someone to despise
Or a prisoner in the dark
Tied up in chains you just can't see
Or a beast in a gilded cage
That's all some people ever want to be
You can't control an independent heart
Can't tear the one you love apart
Forever conditioned to believe that we can't live
We can't live here and be happy with less
So many riches
So many souls
With everything we see that we want to possess
You want to hold onto your possession
Uploaded on Jan 11, 2011 by StingVEVO
Wikipedia: If You Love Somebody Set Them Free
"If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" is the first single released from Sting's solo debut album The Dream of the Blue Turtles. It is also the opening track of the album, and is featured on Fields of Gold: The Best of Sting 1984–1994 as well as The Very Best of Sting & The Police.
The music video was directed by Godley and Creme in 1985. It was shot in Paris on a soundstage, with each of the musicians performing separately and the footage then overlaid onto the final version.
Wikipedia: The Dream of the Blue Turtles
The Dream of the Blue Turtles is the first solo album by British pop singer-songwriter Sting, released in the United States on 1 June 1985, a year after The Police had unofficially disbanded.
Wikipedia: Sting (musician)
Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner CBE (born 2 October 1951), known on stage as Sting, is an English musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, activist, actor and philanthropist. He was principal songwriter, lead singer, and bassist for the new wave rock band The Police from 1977 to 1983, before launching a solo career.
With The Police, Sting became one of the world's best-selling music artists. Solo and with The Police, he sold 100 million records. In 2006, Paste ranked him 62nd of the 100 best living songwriters. He was 63rd of VH1's 100 greatest artists of rock, and 80th of Q magazine's 100 greatest musical stars of 20th century.
official web site: Sting
Circumspect About Circumcision
Published on May 7, 2014 by CollegeHumor
The Real Reason You're Circumcised - Adam Ruins Everything
If You're Not Jewish, and You're Circumcised, You Need to Watch This Video.
Psychology Today - Sep 11/2011
Myths about Circumcision You Likely Believe by Darcia Narvaez Ph.D.
When I was pregnant with my first child, I just thought that circumcision was what you did, no big deal, and that every man was circumcised. Then one day I saw a picture of a baby being circumcised, and everything changed. Just one tiny, grainy photo was enough to make me want to know more, and the more I knew, the worse it got. It turns out, circumcision really is a big deal.
Myth 1: They just cut off a flap of skin.
Myth 2: It doesn't hurt the baby.
Myth 3: My doctor uses anesthesia.
Myth 4: Even if it is painful, the baby won't remember it.
Myth 5: My baby slept right through it.
Myth 6: It doesn't cause the baby long-term harm.
More Circumcision Myths You May Believe: Hygiene and STDs by Darcia Narvaez Ph.D.
There's a lot of hype about how circumcision is better for a man's health. But is it really? Here is Part 2 of our series on myths about circumcision.
Myth: You have to get the baby circumcised because it is really hard to keep a baby's penis clean.
Myth: Little boys won't clean under their foreskins and will get infections.
Myth: Uncircumcised penises get smelly smegma.
Myth: "My uncle wasn't circumcised and he kept getting infections and had to be circumcised as an adult."
Myth: My son was diagnosed with phimosis and so had to be circumcised.
Myth: Uncircumcised boys get more urinary tract infections (UTIs.)
Myth: Circumcision prevents HIV/AIDS.
Myth: Circumcision is worth it because it can save lives.
HuffPost Science - Apr 9/2015
Time for U.S. Parents to Reconsider the Acceptability of Infant Male Circumcision by Morten Frisch, M.D.
Do the benefits of male circumcision outweigh the risks? The U.S. Centers for Disease Control -- echoing the 2012 policy statement of the American Academy of Pediatrics -- have recently suggested that they do. What many Americans are not aware of, however, is the fact that the United States is not just unusual, but actually unique among developed nations in finding such widespread medical support for infant male circumcision.
Wikipedia: Circumcision: Adverse Effects: Sexual Effects
Circumcision does not appear to decrease the sensitivity of the penis, harm sexual function or reduce sexual satisfaction. A 2013 systematic review and meta-analysis found that circumcision did not appear to adversely affect sexual desire, pain with intercourse, premature ejaculation, time to ejaculation, erectile dysfunction or difficulties with orgasm. Another 2013 systematic review found that the highest-quality studies reported no adverse effects of circumcision on sexual function, sensitivity, sensation or satisfaction. A 2014 literature review found that there are significant gaps in the current literature on male and female sexual health that need to be addressed for the literature to be applicable to North American populations. A 2010 Royal Australasian College of Physicians viewpoint mentions that the effects of circumcision on sexual sensation are not clear. Royal Dutch Medical Association's 2010 viewpoint mentions that "complications in the area of sexuality" have been reported.
Wikipedia: Prevalence of circumcision
The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that globally one-third of males aged 15 years and over are circumcised, with almost 70% of those being Muslims.
Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom are examples of countries that have seen a decline in male circumcision in recent decades.
Mad Science Writer - May 8/2013
The foreskin: Why is it such a secret in North America? by Spoony Quine
I had heard of circumcision as a Jewish religious practice, but thought myself unlikely to ever see its results. Little did I know, all the male genitalia I had seen both in real life and as depicted in American anatomy books, had been edited in exactly the same way. Why would anyone selectively remove foreskins, not just from real people but from scientific anatomical texts, which I had thought were meant to represent the natural human form?
My Personal Note
I'm circumcised. Why did my parents do this? We're Protestant, so it wasn't religious. In the above reading, it would seem this is a tradition started in North America during the 1800's and continues today without any thought as to the benefits or the risks. We do what our parents did and never question it. Isn't it about time we take a better look at our traditions? They may not be the best course of action. (slavery, segregation, racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia, elitism, fear of vaccinations, anti-abortion, abstinence-only sex education, no sex education, health care for profit, etc.)
Wikipedia: CollegeHumor
CollegeHumor is a comedy website owned by IAC and based in New York City. The site features daily original comedy videos and articles created by its in-house writing and production team, in addition to user-submitted videos, pictures, articles and links. In early 2009, CollegeHumor's editorial staff wrote and starred in their own TV show, The CollegeHumor Show, on MTV. CollegeHumor is operated by CHMedia, a New York company that also owns Defunker, Sports Pickle, and Jest (formerly Today's Big Thing (also owned by IAC))
YouTube channel: CollegeHumor
CollegeHumor - Aug 13/2014
The entire "Adam Conover Ruins Everything" series up to this point.
Oral Sex: The Gold Standard of Sexual Intimacy
From time to time, I run across articles which make me cogitate. Some even make me ruminate. In this case, I was prompted to push back in my seat, look toward the ceiling with furrowed brow, and mull over the state of world affairs concerning a very private matter. I decided to jot down a few thoughts to share with the rest of the world. As I've said elsewhere, I like to add my two cents worth with the hope, accounting for inflation, that $0.02 is not over-evaluating my contribution.
Due to the graphic nature of the following material, this blog posting has been rated PG-18: those under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a pervert.
Right off the bat, let me clarify my position. I think putting your mouth on another person's genitals to be the most intimate and sensual act one human being can perform on another. Being a man, let me wax poetic. I make the woman the erotic goddess, my erotic goddess. I kneel and worship at the altar of her intimacy. The yoni is the centre of my universe. I don't just pleasure my partner; I experience her pleasure. I achieve a connection both sexual and spiritual.
Poetic? Move over E. L. James as I put perverted pen to paper to produce my own profane prose.
Now that I've gone all mystical on you, let me translate that into something a little more down to Earth so the rest of you who are not tantric Zen Buddhist meditating Kama Sutra shamans can understand. Ahem, here goes.
Eatin' pussy is goddamn hot.
There, I said it. Without delving into the Freudian aspects of my oral obsession (my mother dropped me on my head when I was 8 months old), I have remained fascinated by this form of lovemaking my entire sexual career, 47 years now from losing my virginity at age fifteen. From my reading, I am not alone. There are other men who feel the same way. The woman is the center of life, a vortex of sexual energy.
But I like to stand back and look at the big picture. I may not have access to all the scientific data – heck, there may not be anything relevant – however, in reading articles about the subject, looking at blog postings, and random comments to the same, I wonder what's going on in the world. Being a peace, love, and understanding type of guy, I note, in many cases, we are lacking peace, love, and understanding.
What prompted me to write this: article #1
xojane – Aug 28/2012
"Why I Like Facials (The Dirty Kind)" by Emily
How do I put this delicately? I like having my face cum on. Yep, 90 percent of my sexual encounters end with a big face-full of splooge. (See, delicate!) No, I don't feel degraded by it, nor do I think my male partners' enjoyment of said act means they hate women. I mean, if they did, there are faster ways to oppress us than one shot in the face at a time.
Despite your initial reaction to Emily's penchant for a sex act generally considered to be degrading to women, you will find Emily to be an astute observer of life and a feminist. She quotes artist Marilyn Minter: "There are no politically correct fantasies." and points out some women have rape fantasies.
my blog: Sex fantasies make for better sex lives - Jun 2/2011
Studies show that no woman fantasizes about being raped per se. No woman wants this in reality. In the fantasy, a woman feels perfectly safe and does not fear for her life. The typical female erotic rape fantasy involves imagining a sexually attractive man whose sexual passion is irresistibly stimulated by the woman's sexual attractiveness. In the fantasy, the man uses just enough force to overcome her token resistance and to arouse her sexually.
Emily brings up the idea of feeling safe.
Why I like facials is less important than the fact that I already do.
And one of the things I love about sex -- done well, with someone you trust, it's a boundaryless Never Never Land where cool, smart, and careful melt into sheer sensation. I don't care if your fantasies revolve around fisting or sibling role play -- exploring them together, crawling into each other's weirdo sexual psyches, is half the fun. My orgasms are a politics-free zone.
"With someone you trust." With someone you trust, all is possible and all is permissible.
As for degrading, Emily writes:
In my case, there's nothing degrading about receiving a desired sex act I've asked for as a consenting adult. Sex acts are degrading when they make you feel degraded -- and nobody gets to decide that but you, not even feminism.
Emily points out what is essentially something we should all recognise and embrace.
In Bed With Married Women – Dec 11/2012
The Blow Job as Path to the Divine by Jill Hamilton
Ms. Hamilton talks about experiencing the Divine, "the sublime feeling of connection with the universe" one gets listening to music, or walking in nature, and of course, with good sex. She quotes from the article "The Platonic Ideal" by Samantha Gillison when Ms. Gillison has a revelation about the act of fellatio. Apparently, Gillison had thought of blow jobs as something you gave, like a gift, or something you did as a favor. Plus there was some fear and uncertainty. After a rock concert, and in the darkness of the parking lot, she knelt before her date.
But starting that night in the parking lot, I began to understand the profound, dirty pleasure of giving blow jobs. It isn't just that I discovered how much I like being in control, how much I like giving the kind of pleasure that makes someone helpless, and how intoxicating it is to be on the receiving end of hurricane-levels of desire. But, that night, it was also the revelation of the particular male smell you get up close with a cock and balls that turned me on in ways that are almost beyond description. It was like being inside sex.
Plato said that human beings can only truly access the divine through sexual ecstasy, Eros. This has always made so much sense to me. When else are humans as rapt by feeling as when they come and when they touch God? That feeling of connection to the universal, the feeling of having exited my own body as I orgasm is nothing other than touching the infinite.
Yet I have never been able to get close to that Platonic, out-of-my-mind kind of sexual ecstasy unless I can satisfy a primal hunger: Whether in fantasy or reality, I need a connection to another equally raunchy human being. It has always been the case with me, since I was a teenager, that I have to see someone else's horniness in order to feel horny. What I happily realized on my knees in the parking lot is that an erect cock in my face is among the most blatant ways of experiencing the realness of someone else's desire I'd ever encountered. And every time, it spurs a response in me, hot and dark and if I'm doing something transgressive in the best possible way.
It's at this point, I fell off my chair. Excuse me while I dust myself off.
Jill Hamilton: "Here's Gillison on the experience of blowing a long time friend and feeling, then overcoming, the awkwardness inherent in that particular situation."
But then a supple communication started between me and his penis as I began to suck, a communication beyond words and much deeper than any we had ever had before.
His cock felt so sexy in my mouth, hard and hot and aching with desire. But I could also feel how much of this man was being revealed to me: his sexuality, his vulnerability, his musky smell.
Soon the connection started to feel like a merging, as though I was experiencing that blow job too. It felt crazy, off-the-charts raunchy, to fantasize that I was not only giving head but getting it. All of a sudden I was overwhelmed by pure animal pleasure. I was so turned on that I came.
Since that night's discovery I always revel in the double fantasy of giving and receiving. And I honor the wisdom of the old Greek philosophers who pointed out that although the Divine is inscrutable, it is easy to find while sucking on a dick.
I apologise to Ms. Hamilton for quoting so much from her article, but this was just way too incredible to overlook.
I don't normally tell all sorts of details about my sex life because, well, I'm a shy sort of guy. I like to repeat a comedian I once heard, "Sleep with me and I'll show you four inches of pure steel."
However, I have a point to make and I'm afraid I can't really get around it. So, here goes.
I don't know the exact number, so I'm going to have to estimate. Let's take forty years with sex once a week: 40 x 52 = 2,080. It may be more or less than that, I don't know (there have been periods when I lived alone, without a partner), but it will serve to illustrate my point.
I, like a lot of people or maybe all people, have a standard sexual script. I perform cunnilingus on my partner then have penetrative sex. In other words, I have always put my partner's pleasure first and I have never relied on penetrative sex to give my partner an orgasm. As an aside, let me explain myself.
First, men are noted to fall asleep after orgasm. I am no different. (Live Science - Feb 1/2013: Why Do Guys Get Sleepy After Sex? by Melinda Wenner) I can be totally wiped out, so by putting my partner first, I maintain my state of arousal. Secondly, penetrative sex is a wonderful way to achieve my own pleasure. I would add, that certain positions coupled with supplemental caressing, have created second orgasms for my partners. Not all the time, but enough to make note of.
Jill Hamilton of "In Bed With Married Women" points out that the ladies do enjoy a good "fuck pounding" from time to time even if "it doesn't get me there".
My point is this. I have performed cunnilingus two thousand times. In comparison, I'd say I have received twenty acts of fellatio. You heard that correct. Two thousand versus twenty.
Before I get into dissecting this statistic, another explanation about my sexual tastes. (Oh geez, how much sh*t do I have to tell you guys to make my point? Crap! The next thing you know, I'll be discussing that mole on my inner left thigh.)
I don't care if I get a blowjob. There, I said it. I have no secret desire to ejaculate in a woman's mouth, penetrative sex is great. Of course, there's been some fluffing over the years, but that falls into the category of foreplay, the lead-in to the grand finale. Now don't get me wrong, I appreciate the attention as much as the next guy, but I discovered early on that it is better to give than to receive. An orgasm is great, but giving pleasure can be truly gratifying.
Okay, so what the heck is this great point I'm trying to make?
my blog: Sex: Are women lousy lovers? – Sep 12/2013
According to a 2002 study from the Centers for Disease Control 90 percent of men and 88 percent of women have had oral sex with an opposite-sex partner. But that is in their lifetime. The Kinsey Institute qualifies that by quoting a 1994 study: 27% of men and 19% of women have had oral sex in the past year.
Why more people are not having oral sex
In the second article above, I identify with the author in that there is something sublime about performing oral sex. That's a good thing. But the studies indicate not that many people are engaged in this type of activity. They are missing out on a wonderful way to connect with their partners.
About Men
I was born in 1952. My formative teenage years occurred in the late 1960s to 1972. I grew up in the same environment as a lot of guys and I'm a little different. But how did all those guys turn out? Not all, but some.
my blog: Sex: What men want. Okay, what I want. – Jul 22/2012
Question: What's the difference between a woman and a walrus?
Answer: One has a moustache and smells like fish, the other lives in the sea.
This is an example of the appalling humour you can hear in the guys' locker room or around the water cooler. Why would anybody expect a guy to go down on a girl when he's got this bullsh*t floating around in his head? Add to that the marketing campaigns of the 1970s pushing feminine hygiene deodorants and there's a whole generation of men and women who think a woman's genitals stink. It's at this point I counter with some literary flight of poetic fancy about the pheromone-laced fragrance of the goddess. Geez, I'm getting a hard.... [clasps both hands over his mouth, looks alarmed] Oh crap, did I just say that out loud? Backspace, backspace, backspace, backspace.
But while everybody is deriding males as idiots, consider the following.
my blog: Boys Will Be Boys (or However We Make Them) - Jan 9/2014
In 2014, documentary film maker Jennifer Siebel Newsom is going to release the film "The Mask You Live In" which asks the question "As a society, how are we failing our boys?" She makes the following points.
Compared to a girl the same age, a boy in late adolescence is 7 times more likely to die by his own hand.
Boys under 17 drink more heavily than any other population group.
Boy in the U.S. are 30% more likely than girls to flunk or drop-out of school.
Are boys or men inherently bad?
As reported by the University of Southern California, a study of children raised by gay parents showed differences in their behaviour from those raised by heterosexual parents. For example, boys raised by lesbians appear to be less aggressive and more nurturing than boys raised in heterosexual families. While the aggressiveness of males may be attributed in part to the genes of the species, is aggressiveness also a learned behaviour? A study showing that lesbian parents have less aggressive boys would seem to point out that if Junior's a tough guy, he may have gotten that way from imitating dear old Dad.
The old adage is this:
Society teaches women to suppress their sexuality and men to suppress their sensuality.
my blog: Sex: Are men lousy lovers? - Aug 19/2013
I have read a great deal about dissatisfaction in relationships, romantic, marital, and sexual. The rate of divorce stands at 40% or 50% depending on the source of information. Two-thirds of divorces are initiated by women and the number one reason for divorce is spousal neglect. Yes, neglect. Why? What's going on? Yes, it takes two to tango and I'm sure it would be difficult to untangle just who's responsible for what but I have to ask if men are lousy lovers.
About Women
Where do I begin? There's so much to say, it's hard to know where to start.
Our society is, first of all, ashamed of sex. We abhor it; we scoff at it; and we do everything in our powers to hide it. It's a wonder all those sex-ignorant people figure out how to have babies. Tab A goes into slot B.
my blog: Sheila Kelley: Let's Get Naked: TED Talk - Dec 24/2012
In the following talk at TED, Sheila Kelley shows the Yin Yang symbol and describes how each of us, male and female, have the potential for both Yin feminine and Yang masculine. But in what she calls "The Yin Effect", we live in a world which cuts out a piece of the Yin feminine from women that part which deals with their sexuality. How? Ms. Kelley talks of the negativity towards female sexuality and goes on to recount a personal and poignant story of when she was 7 years old. She and two neighbour boys, on a hot summer day, all took of their tops and laid down in the cool grass. The mother of the boys yelled out the window to the 7 year old Ms. Kelley to put her top back on, that she was a naughty girl and that she should be ashamed of herself. Mom then sent the 7 year old girl home. And so it starts the suppression of female sexuality.
my blog: Why Do We Repress Our Sexuality? - Aug 14/2013
Alyssa Royse (The Danger in Demonizing Male Sexuality) addresses the issue of viewing male sexuality in a negative light by saying, "We have a tendency to demonize male sexuality." She goes on to explain how she and her daughter attended a sex ed class where the female presenter talked about how girls must learn how to say "no" to boys.
"It starts that young. Yes, girls are told that boys are predatory and somehow out of control. The corollary there is that boys are told they are predators, and out of control. Therefore, not a desirable thing, but a thing to defend against. From the get-go, we are teaching our kids to fear male sexuality, and to repress female sexuality."
HuffPost Parents - Jun 18/2013
3 Things Little Girls Need from Their Fathers by Joyce McFadden
When you reveal your discomfort with your daughter's sexuality, you're unintentionally teaching her it's either something to be afraid of or something to be disdained.
I'm sorry I misplaced the link to this story, so I'll explain. Back in 2013, during #AdultSexEdMonth, I ran across a blog entry by a 20 something woman in which she explained why she didn't like performing fellatio. She grew up in an environment where the word cocksucker was used in a negative light. As a consequence, she developed a distaste for the whole idea. She would do it, but only for an intimate partner and then only as a return favour.
What struck me as so interesting about this, is that I, too, grew up in such an environment. All boys used homosexual related expressions to tease and disparage one another. "You're a cocksucker." "Why don't you suck my dick? "(Odd, I know.) The point is that whether you were male or female, the peer group used such terminology in a negative light. Fellatio was bad and anybody performing fellatio was bad.
There's no such thing as a bad blowjob. It's like pizza... even when it's bad, it's still good. We all laugh at clichés because they're, well, clichés. But I am going to put forward the idea that a cliché represents a grain of truth from some personal or historical perspective. The joke (or the truth) in the above cliché has two parts. First, women do not like to perform oral sex on men. If they do it, they do so reluctantly. Because they do it reluctantly, they have never bothered to educate themselves in the fine art of fellatio and do it without much knowledge or expertise. The second part of the joke is that men love getting oral sex. In fact, men are so desperate to get it; they will take anything they get. So yes, even if it's bad, it's better than nothing.
More Personal Confessions
Thirty years ago, a lover of a few years performed a mutually agreed upon act of fellatio. After coming down from my sexual high, I discovered she had spit my ejaculate out on my stomach. I've never required anybody to swallow, but couldn't she wait ten seconds to find a Kleenex? Do I taste that bad? Am I that gross? Am I that disgusting?
Many moons ago, a woman told me flat out she would never swallow because she thought men tasted terrible. Hmmm, I guess I do taste that bad.
An aside: a funny story.
A woman announced she wanted to give me a handjob. She then proceeded so vigorously, I thought she was going to yank my penis clean off. Now ladies, we guys may sometimes say that we are as hard as steel, but that is only in the figurative sense. A penis is not actually made out of steel; it is a delicate instrument of love. Please handle with care. Do not fold, spindle, or mutilate.
By the way, just to be clear about this, I have never required a partner to do anything I wouldn't do myself. Seems fair, yes? (I'm strictly heterosexual, so I am always talking about a woman)
I have tasted my own ejaculate. Yes, I have eaten my own cum. I'm not homosexual, but I do think one should know one's own body. And I can't very well ask a woman to perform oral sex on me without knowing a bit about what the experience would be like for her. Seems fair, yes?
Now, I'm not saying I'm going to be buying either one of the following two books any time soon:
Amazon: Natural Harvest: A Collection of Semen-Based Recipes Paperback – Nov 1 2008 by Paul "Fotie" Photenhauer
Amazon: Semenology - The Semen Bartender's Handbook Paperback – Mar 1 2013 by Paul Fotie Photenhauer
But if you're a lady and want to enumerate the many varied reasons why you won't partake of my manseed, I am fully conversant in the subject and will be happy to discuss your objections point by point. I will also point out how bizarre it is to run over such ideas outside the context of a state of arousal. Yes, you now perceive my personal penchant for pudendum, but I have no plans of whipping up a milkshake consisting of vaginal secretions. ("Ew," I hear you say. ... Hmmm, that sounds kind of kinky. Where's my blender?) (Jezebel – Feb 10/2015: A Brief Chat With a Woman Who Made Yogurt From Her Vaginal Secretions by MarkShrayber)
Finally, I get to my point.
Guys, you are missing out on something fabulous. Kneel and start worshipping. Your woman will love you for it.
Ladies, well, my stats sum it up. 2,000 acts of cunnilingus versus 20 acts of fellatio. If you do not outright fear my sexuality, you are disinterested. Or you are reluctant. And you are sometimes grossed out about it. I just have one question.
Who's going to worship me? Who's going to worship the erotic god?
Yes, I'm a guy and I want to be wanted. I want to be desired. I want to send you into a tailspin of unbridled lust which can only be quenched by my manliness. [pregnant pause] All right, quit smirking and rolling your eyes.
my blog: Sex: What men want. Okay, what I want. - Jul 22/2012
Touch me as a man. Give me the sense that we are connected. Give me the sense not only that you are available, but that you want me. I'm not asking for sex twenty-four by seven, I am asking for the possibility. I'm not stupid. I am mature and yes, I can delay gratification. I am cognizant of children, family events, financial matters, job problems, health issues, headaches, and yes, the latest episode of Desperate Housewives airing in 10 minutes.
Touch me? A quick kiss as either you or I fly out the door. Holding hands on a walk. Snuggling on the couch watching TV. Giving a suggestive caress on the buttocks cleaning up in the kitchen pre or post meal. Or even brazenly grabbing me in the crotch behind our guests back while whispering in my ear, "How's my stud muffin?" Silly? Stupid? Or suggestive? Sensual?
Possibility. Touch my sensibilities. Touch my imagination. I guess, in the end, that is touch my mind with the idea of promise. Oh yes, one more "P" word: passion.
We want to be appreciated by our boss. We want to be admired by our colleagues. We want to be loved by our family. And we want to be desired. There is something special, primordial in being sexually desired by another human being. Yes, we want a partner who loves us, but we also want a partner who desires us.
Elephant Journal – Dec 14/2014
Make Him Roar: 10 things that Turn Men On. by Alex Sandra Myles
"When a man's needs are met, they are automatically inspired to try harder, become better partners and aim for higher levels of success, not only within their intimate relationships, but in all other areas of life too."
I'll take a bullet for you.
Sexy+Positive Blog – Jan 18/2015
Survey Says Sexlessness Sucks by Marie Franklin
Society doesn't really prepare us for this -- we are so often told that men want sex, and that we just have to show up and be pretty.
my blog: Veronica Monet: Sex Secrets of Escorts: What Men Really Want - Jan 8/2014
Vernocia Monet is a former escort. Why would a man pay $2,500 per hour for her time? What could this woman possibly do to warrant such a sum of money? Is the man stark raving mad or does Ms. Monet know something about men that women in general are totally ignorant of? If you're a woman reading this, would you have the slightest idea of what to do that would be worth $2,500 to a man? Ms. Monet: "I learned that when you take his clothes off and provide him with one of the most emotionally moving orgasms of his life, a man will show you that he is not all that different from most women. Men, too, want to be held while they cum and will cry during an internal (prostate) orgasm. There is softness and a desire to be nurtured which I never saw in men until I became a prostitute. I literally went from hating men and the oppression they represented to me at that time, to loving men and feeling regret that we live in a world culture which demands that men sublimate their feminine side in preference of appearing in control."
Dominant/Submissive
Before blogging, I never fully understood this concept. I, and probably the average person in the street, looked at life as either so-called normal or people tied up and getting whipped. It was either black or white. I have since discovered there are (Dare I say it?) shades of grey.
Ballroom dancing, of all things, opened my eyes to a conceptual framework of interactions between men and women. Instead of dominant / submissive, there is a different shade: assertive / receptive. The man asserts himself – he extends his hand as an offer to dance – and the woman is receptive – she accepts (or refuses). Then, the two of them fill their respective roles to achieve a synergy – the whole is greater than the sum of the parts – a dancing couple and all the coordinated grace that entails.
In sexual matters, I, the man, have always been assertive, and maybe at times dominant. I lead my partner in a dance as old as time itself. But my preferred dance has been to always put my partner in the spotlight, her pleasure comes first.
I don't perform oral sex because the woman is going to cook me dinner. I don't do it because the woman is going to sew a button on my shirt. And I certainly don't do it because I think I'm going to get oral sex myself. I do it because I like doing it. The act itself is its own reward.
That is the point I'm trying to make. The above two articles show two women enjoying the act itself. The act isn't a return favour; it isn't some sort obligation; and it isn't a sort of barter for something else. The women are just enjoying the act.
How often have I seen that in my lifetime? I certainly recognise that the number of times a partner has pushed me back on the bed and said, "Don't move. I'm going to do you." has been very rare. Of course, I've dominated the proceedings so one could argue that I've set the scene. Have I failed to give my partners the opportunity to push me back on the bed? Have I failed to make my partners sufficiently at ease to want to push me back on the bed? Or were my partners merely following the model of behaviour dictated by society, our culture, and their up-bringing? Heck, maybe I didn't inspire my partners: not good-looking enough, not sexy enough, and what could anybody do with a laughable four inches of pure steel? (See? I have my own moments of self-doubt.)
Ready, Willing, And Able
Men are ready, willing, and able twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. A woman doesn't have to seduce a man insomuch as she merely has to give him permission to do what he already wants to do. No warm-up, no getting him in the mood is necessary. The word Yes is sufficient.
As a man, I have had it pounded into my head from day one that it is my responsibility to get the woman in the mood. And isn't it obvious why? I come to the table horny. I'm in the mood. The woman, on the other hand, is preoccupied by a myriad of other things: cooking dinner, taking care of children, doing the laundry, etc., ad infinitum. She's not thinking about sex. Heck, sex is the farthest thing from her mind. But that doesn't mean with a little persuasion, she might not find the idea enjoyable. After all, I've come home from work tired and wanting to put my feet up only to remember I've been invited out by friends for dinner. Grumble, grumble, grumble, but I end up going and having a great time. Okay, not all the time, but if I myself drum up a little enthusiasm, things usually turn out far better than I thought at the time.
If a woman walked into a bar, I have no doubt that she could walk out with guy in no time flat. Is she a femme fatale? Does she have her PhD in seduction? If you attached a bobby pin to a string, baited it with a piece of hotdog, then dipped it in a tank of piranha, I would be shocked if you didn't hook something in under ten seconds. (piranha = no skill necessary)
Husband, boyfriend, oh heck a guy comes home after a long day. He's tired. He's hungry. He's angry at his boss and he's frustrated with his work. Sex? He's already been screwed over once today and that is the farthest thing from his mind. Can a woman get him into the sack? I give you a casting rod with a bunch of lures and plop you down in the middle of a mountain stream. Now how long do you need to fly cast to catch a fish if you can catch a fish at all? (fly casting = skill)
How prevalent is this idea that men want sex all the time?
The collective we isn't having as much fun as it could. Some of my take-aways.
We live in a sex negative culture with a great deal of misinformation floating around.
Some men are missing out on a beautiful, sensual way of connecting with their partners.
Some women sometimes fear male sexuality. Some women sometimes are disinterested by male sexuality if not reluctant about it. Some even find it gross. Some. Not all. Not you, not her, and not the brunette sitting third row from the back, second seat in. She's a wonderful lover and any man would be lucky to have her as a partner. But some.
Originally, I was prompted to write after reading two articles about women who enjoyed performing oral sex on men. Unicorns do exist. There are many explanations about the current state of affairs, social, cultural, and religious, but let us hope that with some frank discussions and new information, we collectively can make a step toward a better world. Let's have a little more peace, love, and understanding.
my blog: Sex: Facials are stupid - May 5/2011I picture you sitting there reading away, "Sex: Facials..." [you doing a spit take] "He's talking about what!?!" My last column got me thinking about some authors I had read recently, and I thought I would share these wonderful insights from the fairer sex: Cindy Gallop and Betty Dodson.
Pretty Woman (1990): Quotes
Edward Lewis: So what happens after he climbs up and rescues her?
Vivian: She rescues him right back.
Uploaded on Sep 30, 2006 by marietto82
YouTube: Pretty Woman
Jezebel – Feb 10/2015
A Brief Chat With a Woman Who Made Yogurt From Her Vaginal Secretions by MarkShrayber
Have you guys heard the one about the woman who made yogurt from her own vagina? No? Well then let me tell you a story that begins with the word "flora" and ends with the internet collectively losing its shit because a woman did something with her vagina and talked about it.
How to Masturbate
Movie Review: Danny Collins
Naughty Shakespeare
The Beatles: I'm So Tired
Divorce: Finally, the Other Side of the Story
Erotic Stuff - April 7, 2015
Plumber of the Year
OK Go: I Won't Let You Down


text:
Visitors Online 1,403
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The Unidentified
Norway Norway - Oslo, WhtFem 20-30, Fake Name, shot in hotel room, Jun'95
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MrsWattle
I've come here because a few websleuths on the Marion Barter WS have mentioned similarities to a POI Belgian criminal Ric Blum now in his 80's. ,
He Travelled to Europe Feb 1970 for approx 10 months.
Recently a story in Luxembourg papers about Marion Barter missing has brought forward Belgian Ghislaine female victim with stories of his interest in poison, swindling money, isolating victims, travelling different days, changing appearance.
He has had at least 10 passports in different names, 37 aliases. Jailed in France for fraud, writing checks without cover, confidence tricks etc in early 70's
He is a romance swindler also 4 trips to Europe in 1995
Jennifer fergate mystery could fit his MO too.
Reactions: HinterlandObserver, shadowdancer, bettyboop and 8 others
Comment une retraitée belge a tout perdu au profit d'un escroc
En 2006, il est arrivé presque la même chose à Ghislaine Danlois de Bruxelles et à Marion Barter d'Australie, disparue depuis 1997. Mais contrairement à cette dernière, Ghislaine Danlois peut encore raconter son histoire.
www.wort.lu
Reactions: shadowdancer, Bibno and Candytuft
Leigy
<modsnip - discussing moderation on the thread>
in regards to the food being undigested In her stomach despite ordering it a day before; she likely ordered the food, felt like not eating it, put it in the mini-fridge for later, and then ate it shortly before she died.
I think people are not realizing there was a mini fridge in the room.
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JuicyLucy
Leigy said:
Or felt unable (scared?) to leave the room and was eking the food out.
Reactions: PatLaurel, bettyboop and Carovb5
JuicyLucy said:
I could be totally misremembering here, but weren't there packets of potato chips in the room from the mini bar? Or were those just empty packets that she had previously eaten?
If it was just empty packets, then I can see why she might have been trying to make the meal last, although I remember seeing a photo of the plate showing that she never finished the whole meal?!
I don't know, something feels kind of weird about the whole thing. If she wanted to keep the food for a later time, then why not order the room service at the time that she actually wanted to eat it?
One thought that springs to mind is that she ordered the meal with the intention to eat it straight away and then somebody came to her room (Lois perhaps) and interrupted her meal, so thats why she set it aside. But even that feels like a long time to leave the meal, unless the visitor stayed all night in the room with her.
Reactions: PatLaurel, Fancyhairbrush, ifindedout and 2 others
branmuffin
I cannot see this death as a suicide. Oh, I know there's no obvious clues that lead to murder but there are so many things that don't make sense. First of all, suicide in women rarely involves weapons. The usual forms of suicide in women are exsanguination or drug overdoses.
Yes, there was a gun in the room and lots of bullets but whose gun was it? And if she was one of those rare women who do shoot themselves in the head why would she use one of the most awkward ways to do it; using her thumb to pull the trigger and aiming for her forehead? The recoil of the weapon would cause the deceased to drop the gun since the grip was so awkward.
More women make attempts at suicide than men and survive because they don't use one the most lethal forms of suicide, a gun. And anyone who is intent on killing themselves usually know that the thinnest part of the skull is the temple. So why would you purposely shoot yourself in one of the areas of the skull where the bone is the thickest?
Where were her clothes? Her money? She tipped 50 Kroner for the meal.
I firmly believe that someone was in the room with her and put the gun up against her forehead while she was sitting on the bed. I think she was taken completely by surprise. She had no gun residue on her hand. I believe someone staged that incredibly awkward way of killing yourself and whose only route was to force her thumb into the trigger to even remotely match the wound pattern.
I also think even though it appeared she was alone the whole time I believe a lot of the records of the door opening and closing is because she was actually spending time in another room on the floor, possibly with the Belgium mystery man exactly opposite her room. I remember reading that when she checked in she was given an extra duvet yet two of them were discovered in the room. Where did that come from? It would have had to come from another room. Even the pillow with blood on it may have come from another room. That made me wonder whether she was actually killed in the other room, wrapped in a duvet and brought back into the room she rented. Any of the blood spatter found on the wall and bed could have easily been placed there.
I'm not aware whether LE did any checking of other rooms to find out where the second duvet came from. Most hotel laundry doesn't have numbers on that could be tracked to a specific room.
As for the remains of undigested food in her stomach at autopsy, that could also have been from a meal ordered from another room.
Reactions: ifindedout, InternetDetective, JuicyLucy and 3 others
shadowdancer said:
If she wanted to keep the food for a later time, then why not order the room service at the time that she actually wanted to eat it?
Because meantime she'd been busted as a non payer? Reception was contacting her repeatedly about payment for the room. They weren't going to be sending any more food, so if she had reason to feel unsafe leaving the room (and personally I think she was murdered, so that's plausible) she had no option but to eke out what had already been delivered.
That's my take on it anyway. But its value as a theory is mainly just to challenge the idea (expressed by various people over the years) that the food from the day before still being undigested "must" mean she'd been dead longer than supposed. To me, it could equally mean there was a lag between it arriving and her eating (some of) it.
For me, the real stumbling block to the idea that she committed suicide is the missing clothes. It's odd enough to have no clothes for the bottom half of your body, but odder still to have disposed of them if you are dead. Unless anyone seriously believes that her dying act was to throw all her skirts, trousers and underwear out of her hotel window, then someone else was in that room - someone else who has never come forward and who took at least some items with them when they left. I don't see how that can not be suspicious, even leaving every other odd aspect of this case aside.
Reactions: Aluev, ifindedout, PatLaurel and 1 other person
Tsarapina
yurintroubl said:
OK... This is good info, but I was having trouble visualizing things... So I made my own version 3.0 with color to bring out the patterns of usage. Also used a "6" instead of a "b" for the first character of one of the card IDs.
**NOTE**
Card ID #s and "User Types" are grouped by color. The more "off" an entry seems to me MOO - The darker the shade of that color.
Not sure why the uploaded version won't go full-size. Ima try to post it inline.
I just noticed I messed up the date on the Saturday entries. It should read 06-03-95 on all the ones that say 06-06-95. SMH bc I flattened the image and saved it as a .jpg... so there's no quick n' easy way to edit that ATM.
Could you please tell where did you get a copy from the logserver ans the information about previous guests ? Thank you !
caradana
This case feels primed for a genealogical DNA solve, but with fully European origin it might take another 10-20 years? (Interested in expert perspectives from the EU - I'm almost solely familiar with US rates of voluntary data upload, and I'm assuming it's more pervasive. Could be wrong).
Reactions: branmuffin
caradana said:
It might identify her (eventually, if the law changes) but it still might not satisfy our curiosity about what happened. Many of the theories favoured here or on the web generally revolve around scenarios in which she could well be estranged from family and friends or at least be concealing her activities from them. If she was involved with security services, organised crime or even just sex work, it's quite likely no DNA-linked individual would be able to say what she was doing in that hotel, still less what happened in that room, and equally anyone who ever did know what she was up to might well not be aware of her real identity.
In my opinion, our best chance of understanding this mystery is if someone who was involved with hotel security or the police investigation at the time speaks out about something that isn't currently in the public domain. I've previously seen the part-time student security guard posting in a web forum that he always felt guilty about her, which has made me wonder if he knew about, or suspected, some kind of cover-up, but his choice of words could equally be to do with expressing himself in a language other than his mother tongue, so we perhaps shouldn't read too much into it.
Reactions: PatLaurel, caradana, branmuffin and 1 other person
InternetDetective
I believe was of Belarusian/Russian descent. She looks too much like women from Belarus.
Reactions: Aluev and PatLaurel
Further, I am fully convinced "Lois" killed her in the morning hours. I believe he woke her up, said that they were going somewhere, she was still tired... And laid down in the bed, and he shot her with a silencer while she had her eyes closed.
When security guard came I believe he was cleaning it up and staging it, but it took too long time...
Reactions: PatLaurel
I believe "Jennifer" was born in Belarus and moved to East Germany/DDR at a very young age in the 70s. She remained there until the fall of the Berlin wall, and most likely returned to Belarus. She was fluent in German (and English) and was a young woman and would therefore make good intelligence operative.
Further, I think she was raised in the KGB/Stasi, her "family" (I believe she may not have had much of a family) consisted of these type of people. Maybe her mother was dead, and she was raised by her father who was stationed in the DDR. VERY plausible. There were lots of Russians in former East Germany.
"Lois" I believe is also originally from Belarus/Russia. He probably lives in Minsk or nearby.
Most people looking at this believe it has some kind of Russia connection, this could very well be.
Oakie
InternetDetective said:
Maybe. My sense all along, is that she was more of a Gladio/Comindex/Fremd-herren-oste mind-controlled slave, who had outlived her utility, and was liquidated. Probably not commie.
This affair has "CIA" written all over it.
Oakie said:
Doubt that.
I'd say it has "KGB" written all over it.
She is not American.
Her nationality isn't indicative of who her murderer worked for. The CIA has been at the root of most skullduggery in Europe since its creation in '47. It employed (among others) unreconstructed NAZIs, (including a lot of Reinhard Galen's men) to do all sorts of dirty work.
By their very nature, acts of this sort are hard to trace down; but if I had to bet, I'd put my money on some client agency acting on orders of the CIA.
"Gladio/Comindex/Fremd-herren-oste mind-controlled"
Hmm... Would make a good scifi/thriller but I doubt that.
Nah, I believe this woman was working for some intelligence "organization" relating to Russia and/or Belarus. She looks like she is from these neck of the woods, she spoke with an East German accent, they have already determined she grew up there through DNA.
Why on earth would CIA be involved?
Had she been American I could believe it. But this is a "Russian" who grew up in DDR.
Well, I believe you would lose your money.
Everything points towards that she is with an eastern European (ie. Russian, former Soviet Union) intelligence organization.
I'd put my money on some client agency on the orders of the KGB. Along with that, I would guess that you are American?
I think, like Somerton Man, if Oslo Jane Doe is ever identified, her story will be far more banal than the fanciful theories thrown around online.
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Springrain
Who was Lyra Jade?
azure said:
Definitely agree with this one. After considering it for a while now I feel she was probably severely mentally ill, suffering from delusions, and took her own life as a result. JMO.
Reactions: Ozoner and Tower

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Le patrimoine culturel immobilier de la Wallonie représente les monuments et les sites qui sont classés par la Région wallonne.

La liste comprend tous les sites naturels ou construits classés par la Région wallonne ou les instances belges qui l'ont précédée, par exemple, la Commission royale des monuments et des sites.

Catégories de protection
 M : monument
 S : site
 ZP : zone de protection

Notes et références

Voir aussi

Articles connexes
 Région wallonne
 Agence wallonne du Patrimoine (AwaP)
 Patrimoine immobilier exceptionnel de la Région wallonne
 Liste du patrimoine immobilier exceptionnel de la Wallonie
 Inventaire du patrimoine culturel immobilier de la Wallonie
 Liste du patrimoine immobilier classé de la province du Brabant wallon
 Liste du patrimoine immobilier classé de la province de Hainaut
 Liste du patrimoine immobilier classé de la province de Liège
 Liste du patrimoine immobilier classé de la province de Luxembourg
 Liste du patrimoine immobilier classé de la province de Namur

Lien externe
 Site web des Biens Classés Classés et Zones de Protections
 Liste des Biens Classés
 Division du Patrimoine

Bibliographie
 Freddy Joris, Natalie Archambeau et Pierre Paquet (dir), Le patrimoine majeur de la Wallonie, Éditions du Perron, Namur, 1993, 496 p. 460 ill.
 Marie-Hélène Corbiau, Le patrimoine archéologique de Wallonie, DGATLP, 1997, 597 p., 188 ill.

Liste du patrimoine immobilier classé dans la Région wallonne

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The definitive version of the smash hit Metroidvania-style action-platformer, Guacamelee!
Super Turbo Championship Edition adds new levels, powers, challenges and refinements to the sprawling, ridiculous, Mexican-inspired adventure of the original.
Now the engine is updated.
Open/mount the .dmg file you downloaded from this post.
First i done everything correctly until the Update winetrick part, i forgot that and skipped it, and it didnt work so i tried doing it again, this time i did press update winetrick but it came up with an error, saying it cant run because the wrapper is already running.
So i tried to uninstall the wrapper by using the Uninstaller option in Wine tools and Kill Wineskin processes in Utilities, and start all over again, but it still isnt working.
Thanks for any help that you guys may give me.
note: unistall option is need when you want to unistall a game or app from the wrapper... the wrapper is only a container where you can install a windows game to use it on macOS as a normal app for mac.
Warning: Sometimes wineskin's wrappers could block some istructions, and seems you can't use them again... Be sure to close all wineskin and "windows (c:)" process through Activity Monitor and by kill all wineskin process command.
So im pretty sure i did everything correctly this time, and it still doesnt work, i cant download it on to Steam.
Im looking to try and install it the Disk image way, but i dont understand the Setup file that im supposed to use. Where is it? i cant find it in the .dmg, and that was the only thing that i downloaded from this site. Am i supposed to install it from somewhere else?
Anyways, sorry for the trouble that i caused you, but i still cant seem to make it work.


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text:
Volvo, Ericsson Ink New Five-Year Deal on Connected Car Services
Nathan Eddy
Volvo has tapped Swedish telecommunications giant Ericsson to provide digital vehicle services in its vehicles across more than 120 markets worldwide for the next five years.
The Connected Vehicle Cloud (CVC) platform is based on Ericsson's multiservice delivery platform to provide infotainment, applications and communication services in Volvo vehicles. The announcement is continuation of a previous agreement between the two companies.
The platform allows drivers and passengers to access cloud-enabled services and applications, as well as managed services, consulting and systems integration, all provided by Ericsson.
"We are now looking to the era of software-defined vehicles. It's not defined by the gearbox or the engine, it's defined by how software is made," Claes Herlitz, head of automotive and transport for Ericsson, told TU-Automotive. "As a consumer, you will expect the vehicle not only to be autonomous but also a media spot for infotainment — music of course but also video and collaboration."
Herlitz explained a number of consumers are now looking for connected safety applications, as well as comfort and convenience features like Volvo's remote heater start, which he called a "breakthrough" moment for Volvo's connected car development.
"Consumers want to not only know their surroundings, but they want to know these cars are safe to drive in a bigger context, and that leads to connected care features like unexpected lane departure warnings and emergency braking services," he said.
He also noted providing a seamless, user-friendly experience for the consumer — one which matches the image of a high-end brand like Volvo — will be critical to any successful connected car platform.
"Once you step into a vehicle you want to have an integrated service experience," Herlitz said. "It's extremely important that the availability corresponds to the brand. You don't want to have a low-end experience on the connected side of the vehicle."
The deal is the largest to date for Ericsson's CVC platform, which is delivered through several geographically distributed centers.
The partnership calls for Ericsson to perform systems integration of the solution with back-end IT environments of Volvo Cars and in-vehicle systems.
In a company release, Ericsson noted the platform takes account of legal, security, and privacy obligations on a global scale, such as compliance with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Drivers and passengers will be able to access applications for information, navigation and entertainment from a screen in the car. At the same time, Volvo Cars will be able to open parts of the platform to other players in the ecosystem of the automotive industry.
Content providers will have agreements with Volvo and the other members of the ecosystem, such as Internet radio providers, road authorities, cities' governments, toll-road operators and others.
Volvo Cars currently offers in-car service and maintenance scheduling, as well as a digital key that allows secure, remote, one-time access to the car, for whoever needs it.
The next stage in this evolution is going beyond connected services as add-ons to the car, to over-the-air (OTA) updates for powertrain capabilities and safety features.
— Nathan Eddy is a filmmaker and freelance journalist based in Berlin. Follow him on Twitter.
Tags: Infotainment, Cloud Computing, connected vehicles, Ericsson, GDPR, infotainement, OTA, Volvo, News, Connected Vehicles,
Waymo turns to China's Geely for Latest Robo-Taxi Fleet
Weekly Brief: Mercedes-Benz Breaks Through Crucial Hands-Free AV Barrier
Volvo Announces JV for new Battery R&D Center
Consumer BEV Running Costs Rating Misses Price Tags


text:
A Century of Design
Under the ownership of President Gary Ciuffo, CKD, Ciuffo Cabinetry has been filling the custom cabinetry needs of Long Island and the Tri-State area for over 100 years.
Built to suit
We have a team of project managers and designers who are dedicated to all aspects of your project. With an in-house install team, we successfully coordinate with all contractors and sub-contractors on site.
Modern Craftsmanship
Ciuffo Cabinetry combines old-world techniques with modern technology to provide the finest custom kitchens and millwork. Ciuffo Cabinetry is proud to manufacture here in New York.
Featured in Architectural Digest, the international design authority highlighting the work of top architects and designers.
Ciuffo Cabinetry has been the recipient of many design awards, receiving top praises from the design community.
A family tradition of fine woodworking since 1907.
Gaspare Ciuffo (1878-1943 )
Salvatore Ciuffo (1906-1992)
Alfonso Ciuffo (1909-1960)
Angelo Ciuffo (1922-2012)
Gaspar Ciuffo (1931-2003)
Lawrence Ciuffo (1941-Present)
Gary Ciuffo, CKD, President (1965-Present)
Michael Ciuffo, Vice President (1971-Present)
Joseph Ciuffo, Vice President (1989-Present)
Our Great-Grandfather Gaspare Ciuffo, founder of Ciuffo Furniture, was born in Palermo, Italy in 1878. At the age of 22 he married Petrina Destefano. They had four children while living in Palermo; Salvatore was the oldest, then Nancy, Alfonso and Philamina. In 1912 the family immigrated to the United States, settling in New York City. That is where our furniture heritage all started. His shop produced ecclesiastical wood sculptures for the Catholic Church, as well as hand carved furniture for the general public. Many of the sculptures Great-Grandpa Ciuffo carved can still be seen in New York City including Virgin and Child with St. Joseph at Manhattan City College and the 14 Stations of the Cross on Mulberry Street at the shrine to St. Elois. Ciuffo and Ciuffo Furniture was owned by Gaspare and Alfonso from the mid 1930's until 1940 when Alfonso moved upstate to Oneida, New York to work and raise his family. Our Great-Grandfather continued to work in his New York City shop until his death from cancer in 1943.
Salvatore Cuiffo was born in Palermo, Italy, the son of master carver Gaspare Ciuffo. He moved to New York City with his family in 1912 and grew up learning woodworking from his father. Later he went into business on his own doing custom upholstery integrated with carvings and custom furniture. In 1931 he had a son, Gaspare Ciuffo, who also became a master craftsman.
Alfonso Ciuffo was born in Palermo, on the island of Sicily, in 1909. His family immigrated to the United States in 1912 and settled in New York City. He was educated in the New York City school system and attended the Schools of Arts there. In his youth he worked as bench carver for W. J. Sloan and company. His responsibilities included carving chair legs, table legs, case goods, fret work of, apron and anything else that needed carving. This is where he developed his skills as an expert wood carver. While at W. J. Sloan, Alfonso was chosen to carve various pieces of furniture as gifts for President Roosevelt, paid for by his ardent supporters. In 1934 he moved to Oneida New York to take a job as a wood carver and furniture maker. Mastercraft Co. employed Alfonso during WWII. After the war he started his own business called Ciuffo Studio. The business lasted only a few years, not long enough to really become established. His middle son Lawrence would later reestablished Ciuffo studio in San Diego CA, which eventually became L. Ciuffo Studios in 1986.
Son of Gaspare Ciuffo, Born in 1922, taught by his father, master wood worked, Angelo, the son of Gaspare, was born in 1922. His father, master wood worker, Gaspare Ciuffo, trained him. He began carving at the age of fifteen at Gaspar's studio in Manhattan. He kept active in wood working his entire life and has passed on his extensive knowledge to his two nephews Gary and Michael Ciuffo. Angelo visited the factory at least two times a week, until his passing in 2012, just to make sure thing were still being done the right way.
Gaspar is the son of Salvatore Ciuffo. He was born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1931. Salvatore was the founder of Ciuffo Cabinetry At Ciuffo Cabinetry he taught his sons Gary and Michael, all phases of millwork, at an early age. The boy's Uncles assisted him in his teachings. Gaspar learned first hand, all the methods of the Ciuffo's old world craftsmanship. Obtaining all of skill and quality standards handed down from his grandfather. He helped carry these techniques into the new century and led the way for his sons Gary and Michael to combine Old World quality with modern production techniques.
Furniture for most people is something to sit on or something to store things in. For Larry Ciuffo, furniture has always been a work of art and a way of life. Since 1974 he has owned and operated Ciuffo Studios, a furniture restoration and re-finishing business, specializing in preservation of wood to its original color and luster. He is a third generation furniture craftsmen. Many of the old world methods he uses today were learned from his father and grandfather. His grandfather, Gaspare Ciuffo, was a stone sculptor from Palermo, Italy who immigrated to Manhattan and opened a furniture business in 1911. His father Alfonso carried on the family tradition of woodcarving. Larry grew up making furniture and by the time he was twenty years old he had served his apprenticeship emerging as a furniture builder, restorer and re-finisher. A career in the military and construction business interrupted his work until 1974 when he and his family moved to Rancho Penasquitos, in California. He started a furniture business in his garage. Before long he out grew it, expanding Ciuffo Studios to larger quarters in Poway, where his burgeoning cottage industry is currently located. The reputation and integrity of his craftsmanship is promoted by word of mouth and quite often he does work for people in another states, as well as San Francisco and Beverly Hills.
Gary, Gaspar's eldest son, was born in 1965 and started woodworking at the age of twelve by working with his father. Throughout his school years, Gary developed and increased his knowledge and his father thoroughly trained him in all phases of millwork. After graduating high school, Gary took the front seat right away working side-by-side with his father and brother to build the business into what it is today. Gary has two sons, Joseph and Christopher.
Gary is a Certified Kitchen Designer and proud NKBA member. He attends countless trade shows, conventions, and events around the world to ensure that the company utilizes the most cutting edge technology and materials to create the finest millwork and designs available.
Mike, son of Gasper, has worked his whole life as a wood worker, developing the skills at a young age to become a master craftsman. His father Gaspar and brother Gary trained Mike. He has helped integrate old world skill with modern technology for Ciuffo Cabinetry. He is currently active in all phases of building and maintaining the high standards of millwork created by the company. He has helped to develop CNC Technology that enables us to create the best custom millwork there is to offer.
Joe, Gary's first son, makes the fifth generation of skilled artisans and craftsmen in the family business. While Joe has always been in and around the family business and learned much of the trade at a young age, he originally worked for several years as a Trust and Estate Consultant after graduating from SUNY Oswego with a dual major in Economics and Business Administration.
Joe brings something new to the table – he combines his economic and business background with the old world knowledge and craftsmanship that has been passed down to him since he was a child. He has been thoroughly cross-trained in every aspect of design, construction, installation, project management and machinery operation. As Vice President, he is active in all phases of the business. On any day he can be found working on building, installation, project management and designs.
Joe was recently selected by the National Kitchen and Bath Association as a 2018 Thirty Under 30 Honoree for his accomplishments in the design industry. Joe is proud to carry on the family business and looks forward to leading the business into the future.
Gary Ciuffo
Joseph Ciuffo
Mike Ciuffo


text:
FROM debian:buster

MAINTAINER Nguyễn Hồng Quân <ng.hong.quan@gmail.com>

RUN apt-get update && DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -y locales
RUN echo "en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8" > /etc/locale.gen && locale-gen
ENV LANG=en_US.UTF-8 DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
# Ref: https://github.com/William-Yeh/docker-ansible/
RUN apt-get install -y rsync wget git python3-pip && \
    apt-get install -y sshpass openssh-client openssl ca-certificates && \
    apt-get install -y libpq-dev libffi-dev python3-dev libjpeg-dev && \
    pip3 install -U pip wheel && pip3 install cffi && \
    pip3 install cryptography && pip3 install ansible && \
    pip3 install Pillow psycopg2 pytest-flakes pytest-django && \
    mkdir -p /etc/ansible && echo 'localhost' > /etc/ansible/hosts && \
    rm -rf /var/cache/apt/* && rm -rf /root/.cache/pip

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub