Excerpt from “The Sniper’s Sister,” by Rachel Howard
Feb 14 at 11:11pm by jon
We’ve added Rachel Howard’s link to our badly organized - but carefully collected - blogroll. She writes wonderful pieces about dance for the San Francisco Chronicle. But this is from a tw0-part piece she wrote about her brother’s leave from service in Iraq:
There were photos of Emmet holding a stray puppy his platoon had adopted, of his teammates loaded with 40 pounds of hand grenades in specially equipped vests, of the crew arrayed around the Stryker vehicle, the soon-to-be-dead platoon leader at the edge of the shot. Nothing remotely Abu Ghraib worthy, to my immediate relief.
And yet Emmet’s stories kept coming, about cars rushing toward the convoy, no way to tell if they were carrying bombs or if the driver was just plain scared. About swooping in on houses via Blackhawk in the middle of the night with only the most rudimentary language skills to help the soldiers find weapons, and physical force to fill in where words couldn’t. About women holding dead children in the street, little more Emmet’s team members could do but bandage wounds and stare with stricken faces.
Entire SF Chronicle article (in two parts: Part I here, and Part II here).
Don’t Irritate the Lions (Noli Irritare Leones)
Nov 9 at 11:11pm by wilkins
Noli Irritare Leones is, of course, very good advice. But it’s also the name of a really wonderful blog by a woman whose username is Sappho; conversations on this blog tend to be very interesting, with an exceptionally gentle tone. From her “About” page:
Some of the topics on this blog don’t require too much explanation; as I’m a Quaker it’s not surprising that I should talk about Quaker practice, the Peace Testimony, the Bible, and the like, and then everyone does memes, talks about movies, and discusses the latest items in the news. I blog about feminism because I’m a feminist. I also have an interest in blogging about sexuality, in particular how people relate their faith to their sexuality, and in particular how people who are attracted to their own sex relate their faith to their sexuality. Beyond that, here are some of the topics that show up on my sidebar where the connection may not be obvious, and why I’ve blogged about them.Why Africa? My sister-in-law is African, from Chad, and she’s the mother of about half of my nieces and nephews. Also, when I started looking for news from Chad, I found out that there are a whole lot of really cool blogs from Africa, and that the Internet provides an opportunity to get African perspectives that you’d never find otherwise.
Why Anarchism? Just because Emma Goldman is cool.
Why Catholic Worker? Dorothy Day is even more cool. And I’ve done things with the local Catholic Worker house on an intermittent basis.
Why so much about the Catholic and Episcopal churches? I was raised Episcopalian and married into a Catholic family.
Why Gnosticism? Well, I blog about orthodox Church Fathers, too. I’m interested in church history from all sides, including understanding the heresies that got rejected.
And, in fact, all of those topics, and more, on Noli Irritare Leones. Being Jewish, I’m not so sure of this, but I suspect it’s a reference to some sort of Christian gallows humor. (Groucho Marx used to tell a joke about a man who, when brought to the gallows, was asked if he had any last words. He replied: “I don ‘t think this damned this is safe.”)
(Update: plus, she reads Zuzu, my friend and neighbor, probably the best-known feminist blogger - well, at least in Brookyn).
AAG exhibits exceptional grace under substantial pressure
Nov 7 at 11:11pm by wilkins
Check out Driveway - not what NPR refers to as a “driveway moment,” but an account of AAGbeing a great parent in a tough situation. Her soon-to-be-ex: not so much.
Always Aroused Girl (AAG) - shredding the space-time continuum like nobody’s business.
Marcelle Manhattan - not only angry, but fair, too - and fascinating
Oct 29 at 12:12am by wilkins
Ms. M. Manhattan of Sexegesis has written a post about an ex - someone who, while they were together, made a point of tormenting her about her mediocre skills as a lover. In particular, as a fellatrix.
In truth, there’s no way I can plausibly claim not to be a member of the same group as this lout. Manhattan plausibly suggests that he’s a sociopath. Let’s look at the evidence:
- gratuitous humiliation, in which he apparently took pleasure;
- based upon a falsehood (”you don’t give good head”). It’s a falsehood because he wasn’t in a position to know anything except whether or not it was good for him. (For argument’s sake - and because we can’t refute it - we’ll assume that, when he was complaining, he was, in fact, not delighted). The only cock I’ve ever had sucked is my own; but I’ve sucked a couple of dozen, with and without assistance from others, and it’s a skill I’ve tried to get down (no pun intended).
[I like Dan Savage a lot - but apparently he's been saying there aren't any bisexuals. The editorial staff here at Sunnydale Recycling have secret evidence that bisexuals actually exist; it's true that we're all really, really bad people, but that's another matter entirely]
My current assessment is this: there’s a lot of variation between men and cocks and how they like to be blown; giving “good” head can involve lots of things - but always some feedback - usually just via observation - from the recipient.
Women vary much, much more - in my view - much more complexity and heterogeneity in female sexual response. Sounds like Marcelle’s ex didn’t figure that out either.
And - check her out - look how incredibly sexy and smart this woman is. If he’d been nice to her - it would have been apparent sooner.
But some of these guys don’t get off on getting off. They get off on being cruel.
“Let’s begin with an overview”
Oct 27 at 4:04am by wilkins
This is, I believe, the beginning of the narrative of the blog of Thomas Paine and C at Polyamorously Perverse. This is the first time I’ve thought about a blog as a story you’d want to start at the beginning - rather than a stream you dip into - mostly focusing on what’s in the present.
I’m finding them increasingly fascinating.
After 30 years of thinking I was just another male who couldn’t settle peacefully into monogamy, I finally figured out I’m what’s called polyamorous: I prefer to have more than one lover in my life.
It’s not surprising, actually. My wife and I were both “poly” 20+ years ago without even knowing it. What’s that Country Western tune about “I Was Country Before Country Was Cool”? Well, we were poly before there was even a name for it. The term was coined by some Wiccan babe in the 80s or 90s (not important when). We were just young and frisky and taking advantage of an explosion in alternative lifestyles. Gays and Lesbians and Bisexuals were coming out of the closet, and the Women’s Movement was challenging the way I and almost every other man had been brought up.
My wife confessed one night in bed that she wanted to have sex with other women. I was shocked, but thought it kinda kinky, and said, “sure, you go explore.” For one thing, she was desperately unhappy with her job and her lack of challenge in her life, so maybe I figured “who am I to block her in yet another thing?” And like most guys, it seemed sorta appealing, for reasons I still can explain. It didn’t stop at other women, but included at least one man I know of. I confess I didn’t handle that part well, but partly because I caught her sneaking around with him. So much for an open marriage. Read the rest of this entry »
“Besides the fact that every part of my body is sore, I’ve had a good time with him.”
Oct 27 at 4:04am by wilkins
We’ve just discovered Anal Amy:
Friends with extra special benefits
Well, I thought it would be a while longer before my next sex fueled adventure. Before Thursday night, we still hadn’t gone past first base.I’m not sure how long it was, but it was a pretty long time for a blowjob, he finally came. I had been begging him the whole time to cum on my face. I didn’t think he was going to do it until at the last second, he pulled his cock out and aimed it right between my eyes. I closed my eyes and felt the hot cum hit my skin. It flowed into my eyes, it dripped off my face. I couldn’t open my eyes until he cleaned me up with a napkin.
But as soon as I could see again, I went back to work on his cock. I couldn’t even think about anything else right now. I had to get his cock hard again. His cock tasted like sperm now, and that definitely turned me on.
- snip -
Mr Next
Well, I may have met the next one. LOL. I swear I wasn’t even looking, just out with my friends at a party and there he was. I’m not even joking it was one of those moments where I was standing in one part of the room, I looked over to where he was and he looked at me and grinned.
His name is Luke. I kind of knew him already. He’s always in the gym (great body!) because works out all the time and he works there. He’s helped me out with a few of my techniques and “spots.” But this was the first time we’ve really said more than a couple of sentences to each other. It wasn’t the greatest conversation, we were both pretty drunk but he’s so cute, so hot and actually has a brain.
I remember most of our conversation except a part where I said I would start working out with him. He called me up Sunday afternoon and I was a little surprised because I didn’t remember anything about it.
I’ve been thinking about working out for a while - but not as hardcore as he does. He runs (I jogged and walked a little) first. Then he goes into the weight room. I swear there were a couple of times he forgot I was a girl and hadn’t worked out in a while when he was selecting the weights. Then today, he had me work out with the cardio stuff. I’m not sure if he’s a perspective trainer or boyfriend.
It’s kind of weird hanging out with him though. I had a huge crush on him last year when I used to go to the gym all the time. But it’s also weird because we’ve spent a lot of time together the past couple of days. That’s a good thing…I think. Besides the fact that every part of my body is sore, I’ve had a good time with him.
So far we haven’t even kissed. We wrestled but that’s about as much contact as we’ve had. He’s really flirty and really playful. Plus, he’s laid back and doesn’t take things serious. A lot like me.
This is going to sound really - bad but I’m wondering why he’s into me. I’ve seen some of the girls he talks to that come into the gym. Super skinny, blonde, great bodies - etc. They all wear the skin tight shorts and just a sports bra. They have bodies I’d pay for. I honestly think he’s heard that I’m easy, a good fuck or something. I know he knows at least one of my ex’s.
Anyways, I should get back to working on this paper.
From “Mr. Next”
AlwaysArousedGirl
Oct 24 at 12:12am by wilkins
AlwaysArousedGirl Could also be AlwaysWritesGood girl. This may be in part explained by the fact that she’s a TripleGoddess - a concept new to me; also very funny.
Here are a few you shouldn’t miss:
I Must Share These or My Brain Will Explode
She’s brilliant writing about sex. Her writing about her children is transcendent. Except when it’s hilarious.
You Say You’re Thinking of Having Children, Are You?
Mr. and Mrs. Tom and C. Paine
Oct 23 at 11:11pm by wilkins
Polyamorously Perverse is a blog we’ve recently discovered. Here are links to some excellent pieces; what’s more, the comments are quite thoughtful, and in some cases, make the posts complete.
How to set up an MFM threesome;
Sexual Diplomacy and the Battle of the Sexes
The proprietors/authors of this blog are “Tom” and “C” - and they’ve got some really thoughtful things to say about marriage, monogamy, love, sex, and other compelling issues.
They also got a great review from JanesGuide, always a sign of excellence.
Greta Christina: observations on the occasion of the outing of Dumbledore
Oct 23 at 10:10pm by wilkins
Greta Christina has a new piece on her blog about the new discovery about Professor Dumbledore ((get your minds out of the gutter; this has nothing to do with Senator Craig; Dumbledore must do better than that))
pretty much have just three things to say about this:
One: Neat.
I think it’s cool that Dumbledore is the moral center of the book, the apotheosis of goodness, the one character that all the good guys look to for both political and ethical leadership.And he’s gay.
That’s just nifty.
Two: I think it’s too bad she couldn’t have said so in the books themselves.
Don’t get me wrong. I totally understand why she didn’t. If she’d made Dumbledore overtly gay in the books, then in the general public eye, that’s what the books would have been about. Everything else that the books are about — moral complexity, the realities of a resistance movement, what it’s like to be a child growing up and figuring out that the adult world is seriously messed-up, all the lovely and ridiculous magic stuff — would have become suddenly and dramatically secondary. It would have become the children’s book series about the wizarding school with the gay headmaster. It would have become the seven-volume fantasy version of “Heather Has Two Mommies.” I think it was the right decision, and if I’d been Rowling, I would have done exactly the same thing.I just think that’s too bad.
I think it’s too bad that we live in a world where the mere presence of a major gay character in a children’s book automatically makes it a Kids’ Book About Gay.
I think it’s too bad that I now have to wonder: How many other characters did Rowling envision as gay, but wasn’t able to say so? (My money’s on Draco…)I think it’s too bad that the single most popular author in the known universe, the one author who could write her own ticket more than any author living today, still had to keep the gayness of one of her central characters a secret until the series was completed.
It is better now than it used to be, forty years ago or even twenty. Imagine if L. Frank Baum had announced that Glinda the Good Witch was gay. Or Tolkein with Gandalf. Or Madeleine L’Engle with Mrs. Whatsit. There would have been a shitstorm. But it’s a different time now, and the people who are mostly going to be upset about Dumbledore are the fundies who aren’t buying the books anyway because they promote witchcraft.
But I still think we have a long way to go. I still think it’s still too bad that a major children’s book can’t have a major gay character in it without that becoming the central defining feature of the book.Maybe in twenty years.
Three: Now I have to read the whole series again. Or the last book, anyway.Damn. What a shame.
Greta Christina’s “Dumbledore Is Gay: Good Guys and Literary Closets“But does this mean authors can now go around, willy-nilly, and retroactively declare, well, I really meant them to be gay/bi/straight the whole time?
Try a few of these:
- TinTin and the two guys with the bowlers
- The Hardy Boys (figure that out for yourself)
- Bugs and Elmer
- Hawkeye and Trapper;
We’re going to be very upset if someone pulls this on Battlestar Galactica, especially if it’s Admiral Adama - because Laura Roslin has suffered greatly and has, for all of that action, seen no action. If you take our meaning.
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