Thursday, March 27, 2008
How to Survive a Bad Marriage
A much smaller American study bolstered the idea that a bad marriage can be harmful to your health, but Associated Press reported it in a way that managed to be insulting to people who choose to remain single for whatever reason: "A happy marriage is good for your blood pressure, but a stressed one can be worse than being single..." Gasp! There's something worse than being single?
Yep, in fact, being in a bad marriage and keeping your mouth shut about it is worst of all--especially for women. Another study found that women who kept silent during arguments were more likely to die in the next ten years than women who voiced their feelings.
With such ingrained attitudes about the horrors of being single, it's no wonder people cling to bad marriages. So, ladies, what have we learned from these studies? If you're going to stay in a bad marriage, at least give him hell about it. That way, maybe you'll outlive him and get some peace down the road.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Empress on the Mount
Friday, March 21, 2008
Animal Prostitutes?
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Bad News for Dogs
Friday, March 14, 2008
Empress on the Mount
I’m looking for a woman who will tell me what to do and punish me if I disobey her. I think you might be the one I’ve been looking for my whole life. Make me your slave. Walk on me with your high heels. Put a gag in my mouth and spank me with your hairbrush. In return, I’ll cook and clean for you, wash your hair, massage your feet and anything else you want.
What do you say?
your humble slave
And stay the hell away from my hairbrush. You simply aren’t worth it.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Client 9's Girls
Monday, March 10, 2008
Who Is That Masked Man?
Saturday, March 8, 2008
International Women's Day
Happy International Women's Day! What, you didn't know today has been a day of global celebration of women for 99 years? That's not surprising since most of American media completely ignore it and always have.
Okay, I'd better put a disclaimer right here. This is off topic and has nothing whatsoever to do with the sex act. It does, however, have a lot to do with women. I get two daily newspapers, The Tampa Tribune and the St. Petersburg Times (which bills itself as Florida's Best Newspaper). Neither one happened to mention that today is International Women's Day. Well, I figured, they are local papers, even though they both have sections that purport to cover international news. So I visited the esteemed New York Times website. Surely, such a sophisticated newspaper would have something about this incredibly important day devoted to helping women in all countries achieve their full potential in life. Nope. Not a word.
If you want news about International Women's Day, you'll have to rely on Canadian, British, French, Indian, even Trinidadian news media, which all carried, if not substantial coverage, at least more than American media.
According to the official IWD website, the groundwork for IWD was laid in 1908, when 15,000 women marched in New York City demanding voting rights, better pay and shorter working hours. A year later, the Socialist Party of America organized the first International Women's Day. Maybe that's why we ignore it here in the States. Because it was started by--gasp!--socialists! By 1911, it was celebrated by more than a million women in Europe and the United States. They probably didn't get much ink from the media then either.
The United Nations held IWD conferences for several years and designated 1975 International Women's Year. IWD is now an official holiday in Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
That's right, we had a whole year more than a quarter of a century ago, and after almost 100 years, it's an official holiday in only a handful of Eastern European and Middle Eastern and Asian countries. Although they don't give it an actual day, the governments of the United States, Australia, and some provinces of Canada officially "support" the day. Wow. Gee, thanks, democracy! Your support means so much to me--not in any material way, of course--like giving us a day off to honor our incredible contributions to the world, or in pay equity, since women in this country still earn only 77 cents for each dollar a man is paid.
Women in the United States got the right to vote in 1920, with the passage of the 19th Amendment, though some states allowed them limited voting rights before that. That's right, we haven't even had that right for 100 years. Canadian women got the right to vote in 1918, though they were not declared to be "persons" until 1929.
Forgive me if I feel a little bit sad and angry today. It's supposed to be a day of celebration. But the truth is, most women in this country probably don't even know that today is International Women's Day. And if they did, would it make any difference? Will we ever value ourselves enough to settle for nothing less than full equality and pay parity? Will we ever value each other enough to understand that equal rights and pay for women are good for both women and men, and that in demanding them, we are in no way saying we don't love and value men?
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Makeup Tips for Time Travelers
By Liz Jasper
When researchers dig around in old caves looking for remnants of early civilizations, they expect to find chipped stone blades, maybe some hollowed out rocks for grinding grains, certainly a little cave art on the walls to make things homey. But makeup?