Interesting

Life in Space Affects Men's And Women's Health Very Differently

Back in 2011, NASA and the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) — on the recommendation of the National Academy of Sciences — assembled six workgroups to investigate and summarize the current body of knowledge about human and animal spaceflight. The groups focused on cardiovascular, immunological, sensorimotor, musculoskeletal, reproductive and behavioral implications on spaceflight adaptation for men and women. The results have now been published in the latest edition of the Journal of Women's Health.

The study — done in anticipation of longer-duration spaceflights — will inform the health and safety considerations required for astronauts, particularly as they pertain to sex and gender differences.

Thanks to Alexandra Bond for the link!

I am amused

by Microbrachius dicki, both in its name in relation to this story and by the fact that it was apparently ahead of the times, and evolution seems to have had a bit of foreplay and then reverted to spawning instead. I am also amused by the fat that the BBC included diagrammes as to how they copulated. :)

Ancient Scottish fish 'first to have sex'

Do you know your Bible?

I got these pretty much right (some had multiple answers). And I'm pagan. But I've read the Bible, unlike many Christians. :)

Religion and Sex Quiz

It's actually an op-ed piece illustrating that what people think the Bible says tends to be very different than the actual Scripture, and that the Bible is very ambiguous on lots of points regarding sex, which makes sense, as it is a hodge-podge of two religions, various authors, and a lot of debate over the years, even unto which books would be included. The piece draws upon the book Unprotected Texts: The Bible's Surprising Contradictions about Sex and Desire, by Jennifer Wright Knust, who is a biblical scholar and an ordained American Baptist minister.

They are rather cute

But the female's got a great left hook. I like how their ears wiggle alternatively.

Not surprising to me

Heavy girls likelier to have sex early: They're also less prone to use birth control, study shows

Certainly in terms of self-esteem, overweight and obese girls tend to have lower self-images than others, and that puts them at risk for being pressured to have sex without preparing properly for birth control. The need to feel special and to have external validation is common among people with low self-esteem. If someone gives a girl with low self-esteem attention, I think she will be more likely to latch onto them emotionally and do whatever it takes to keep them with her. That's certainly my experience. I didn't lose my virginity until I was a sophomore in college, at 18, but I had such low self-esteem that I really gave my brain over to the first person who said he loved me and felt I had to marry him to be a 'good girl'. I left the marriage 6 months in (but after 6 years together) because I finally came to my senses.

I am under orders

from Brandon to not think of the additional $930 I owe the state and federal government for 2009 (I did my taxes tonight), but to blog about something interesting for him to read. So first, some humour...

Here's a stupid-criminal story:
Jail me, Elmo? Police: Dad left pot in boy’s bag: He's accused of calling son's school to see if he could retrieve it

Here's a little another odd bit:
Doctor Who regeneration was 'modelled on LSD trips'

"The metaphysical change... is a horrifying experience - an experience in which he relives some of the most unendurable moments of his long life, including the galactic war," it said.

"It is as if he has had the LSD drug and instead of experiencing the kicks, he has the hell and dank horror which can be its effect," the memo added.

In the library world, Will Manley is a columnist who is both lauded and reviled for his perspective. In 1992, he lost his position at the Wilson Library Bulletin for running a sex survey of librarians in his column. Finally, the results are made public:

WILL UNWOUND #78: “The 1992 Librarians and Sex Survey Results” by Will Manley

Just for the record, I would not be among the 38% of female respondents who, if PeeWee Herman were the last man on Earth, have sex to repropagate the species. The human race would just die. Sorry.

On to something more serious. To kick off National Library Week, an op-ed piece by Art Brodsky on the decimation that library budgets are undergoing when they're most needed:

Our Public Library Lifeline Is Fraying. We'll Be Sorry When it Snaps

No less an authority than Keith Richards put it best in his forthcoming autobiography: "When you are growing up there are two institutional places that affect you most powerfully: the church, which belongs to God, and the public library, which belongs to you. The public library is a great equaliser."

This is sure to cause some strong reactions:

Spanking kids linked to bullying: Report: Physical punishment can lead to aggressive behavior

According to the study, kids who were spanked often were twice as likely as those who weren't spanked to develop aggressive behaviors such as getting into fights, destroying things or being mean to others.

Earlier research had produced similar results, but most had not taken into account how aggressive kids were to begin with, and other factors could have biased the results.

As I don't have kids, I don't feel I can really comment on this too much. I do think that the greater the physical punishment, the more likely the child is to model this behaviour him- or herself.

There's a taste of stuff in my reader, Brandon. Hope you all enjoy.

Absolute agreement

Why Perpetuation Of The Human Race Depends On Men, AKA Buy My Lemon Chicken: Guest Post by Ashley Ambirge

Josh Hanagarne over at the World's Strongest Librarian blog has some great guest bloggers. This post is written by Ashley Ambirge of the Middle Finger Project. And it is, in point of fact, a jewel.

I consider myself a feminist. I also have a traditionalist streak. Ms Ambirge has neatly explained why someone who feels liberated might still want a man to pay the cheque. Why we thrill if a man opens a door for us. Why interesting conversation is fine, but at the end of the day, it's sex that drives us.

Now I admire that, despite the fact that in fact I am a bit of a prude and am secretly afraid of sex. Let's say I have issues with sex stemming from formative years and I'm still working on overcoming them. Not that I've had much opportunity, as I've been on exactly two dates since 1994 and have not had sex after either one (neither picked up the cheque; both were more insane than I, and that's just a barometer mark you don't cross--when the guy is crazier than you, don't have sex with him. One went to the friend who fixed us up's sofa and cried like a baby over the woman he was obsessed with who didn't want him and the other told me of driving his car maniacally into one his father drove because his parents threw away the stuff he'd left behind months if not years before. What can I say--not good mating material.) What can I say? When I was 18 and first dating, I had no standards, and I deserved what I got. I learned my lesson, and now I have standards. I don't think they're too high:

ABSOLUTE DEAL BREAKERS WHEN DATING A MAN:

1) The guy must be heterosexual. Not gay, not bisexual, not 'oh I'm straight but I sleep with men', not 'oh I'm straight but I troll for sex in men's restrooms', but rather 100% into women. Period. (What can I say, it's a sticking point for good reason.)

2) The guy must not be a momma's boy. Been there, done that, have the scars to prove it.

3) The guy must have an engaging personality.

4) The guy must be reasonably sane and not have anger management issues or abusive tendencies. He must not be controlling or emotionally or physically abusive. He should be able to argue without going to that level, and be able to make up quite nicely.

5) The guy should not do any drugs. Period. He should not drink excessively either. Social alcohol use is fine; downing a six-pack of beers a night just to relax is not.

6) If we're dating, we date exclusively. No adultery, no sex outside the relationship, no cybersex. I also will not be the other woman, so married men and those in relationships already need not apply.

7) The guy must be willing to practice birth control. I'll do my part, but I expect a condom (not latex, I'm allergic, so you may have to search a little--I'll even provide them if you want) unless we're married and even then I don't plan on having little ones. You better be okay with that, because at my age, it just ain't happening, barring some sort of divine intervention where three types of birth control fail at once.

8) Life shouldn't be all about him. We all have self-interests and can be selfish at times, but I'm mainly talking about narcissist, assinine guys who can't draw themselves away from the mirror long enough to do anything productive with you.

IMPORTANT:

1) The guy must have enough intelligence to carry on a conversation with where both of us are enjoying it. He doesn't have to be a rocket scientist. This rule can be suspended as long as sex is the goal and not marriage, as long as he is trainable, hot, and sexy.

2) The guy shouldn't smoke or dip tobacco. It's gross--especially the dipping part. I am almost willing to take a smoker who smokes very little (doesn't smell like stale cigarettes) who is quitting and willing to brush his teeth before kissing, but that's a stretch. What can I say, dip is just disgusting.

3) The guy should be reasonably good with money. Lord knows I need help. But no gambling problems, etc.

4) The guy should be capable of love. (If only sex is required, this is not absolute. If something more might develop, then it pretty much is.)

5) The guy should have a somewhat romantic streak (remember my birthday and Valentine's day and at least get a card and maybe a single rose). I promise to do likewise.

Notice physical appearance doesn't really enter into the scheme, although of course that is part of the chemistry that's important before dating or having sex with someone. Nor am I hung up on, 'I have to be in love and ready to commit myself on the first date'. I may be a prude, but sex is raw, emotional, and is really just a 'pleasant physical activity' as one of my friends once said. We can just get down and dirty and not plan a life together, although I can't see doing it the first date (unless we've known each other a fairly long while). It doesn't mean I'm yours forever, and depending on what happens it may work or not.

I have slightly different rules for women, but generally they remain similar. Okay, I guess everything's important except for the 'momma's boy' part (daddy's girls aren't quite the same) and with a woman I wouldn't necessarily hold bisexuality against her, although I'd still expect to date exclusively. Women's sexuality is sometimes a little complicated compared to men's.

Anyway, there's my rules on dating/sex. If you are willing to abide by them, please do apply. Once I get past the initial uncertainty I actually enjoy sex and dating. It's the geeky lack of social skills and fear of being hurt that cause the problem.

Who in their right mind would do this as a vacation in this day and age?

Older white women join Kenya's sex tourists

Yes, let's go to Africa, the epicentre of the world's AIDS epidemic, and have as much sex as we can, trolling down the beaches for studly young men. It doesn't have to be Africa, of course--Asia's sex trade is also very dangerous, as it is pretty much everywhere these days in terms of HIV and Hepatitis, plus a whole host of other sexually transmitted diseases. But going to a country with a 6.9% AIDS rate to go have unprotected sex (condoms seem too 'businesslike' for some women's fantasies, according to the article) with strangers?

Or am I being a prude? It just seems, well, stupid, and it doesn't matter if the people doing it are young, old, white, black, whatever--HIV doesn't discriminate.

Speaking of the sex trade, I also came across this:

Teen suicide spurs war on child prostitution

Authorities are cracking down in Atlanta, which has become a hub for child prostitutes, many lured into sex with men in other towns and then brought against their will to work for pimps. Girls (and I'm sure, boys, too) are bought and sold from pimp to pimp, and the men having sex with them (perhaps from layovers at the busy international airport) aren't having a normal money-for-sex relationship with women who are consenting--they're having sex with 12-year-olds, making them predators and paediphiles.

The only facility in the country for rehabilitating former child prostitutes is near Atlanta. The city is seeking to open another, especially in the wake of Samantha Walker's suicide. Walker, from Toledo, OH, was lured into prostitution in Toledo at 15 and taken against her will to Atlanta. She testified against a man who forced her to have sex at a rest stop and then took her back to his hotel, from which she escaped. He was convicted of forced imprisonment and solicting sex with a minor. A few weeks after the trial, unable to get a placement at the rehabilitation centre, she had returned to Toledo and facing the shame of being a child prostitute, killed herself at the age of 18. The courts aren't set up for dealing with the Samantha Walkers of the world, and the system therefore fails to keep these young girls from continuing as prostitutes into adulthood, or worse, succumbing to drugs and sexually-transmitted diseases. The shady world of prostitution is bad enough as it is--but it shouldn't involve children. These kids deserve to keep their childhoods and not be jaded before they can drive. I'm sure just about any relatively large city has some experience with this issue. Keep your eyes and mind open to the fact that sexual slavery exists in all sorts of places--because we refuse to see it. Sometimes it is young foreign women who are lured to private homes or brothels. Sometimes, as in Samantha's case, it is home-grown. Sex can be a wonderful thing--it shouldn't be the chain by which someone is bound and gagged.

And remember, today is World AIDS Day. Do something proactive--get a test, wear a condom, raise awareness with a ribbon, or donate to a charity. Educate yourself about safer sex and about the disease. Protect yourself--and have sympathy for others who have been exposed and ire for those who aid its spread, often by misinformation or actions such as drug dealing or pimping.

It was a good day

I did quite a bit at work without being harried, took a late lunch which left me alone with a book, which was nice for a change. Then I came home and took Cerys for a walk in the gorgeous sunshine with a nice breeze. I slept for awhile, since I didn't get enough sleep over the weekend, despite much sex going on in the living room above my head. I had a nice dinner (lemon pepper cod with a salad) then went to the gas station for gas and to see if they'd heard anything from the co-worker who never called in or showed. Since her husband had said she'd already left when I called, I was afraid she might have been in a car wreck. Apparently not. When my boss called, someone just hung up. She'd talked of a job offer as an activities director for an adult day care for $17/hour. But she didn't strike me as the type of person who would just not come in and wouldn't even call. For one, that's something you normally expect from young people, and she was in her 50s. I don't get it. The only time I've ever walked out of a job was at the comic store during the rebellion against the new owner where all but one of us left at once. That was more a mutiny than anything else. Otherwise I've given 2 weeks notice to all of my employers.

Anyway, I went to do notes and then of course it was Monday so there was 'Heroes'. I'm psyched for the finale. Most of the chess pieces are in place--it should be interesting to see how it will unfold. New York is the board, and it's supposed to explode in two days. Will they be able to stop it?

Now I'm home and I've had a bite to eat. I may play some Get Medieval! before I go to bed. Or just lounge in the recliner for a bit and read the last 2-3 chapters of my mystery book. Good night.