What I've Been Reading: 5/20/13

[quadruplify]

Since I haven't done a linkdump in a while, I figure I might as well do one now. There's a lot here, so it's all under a cut, with very little commentary of my own unless it helps clarify what the article is about. Enjoy! ^_^;

Comments

[awakenyourfaith]

As always, these links are amazing! I particularly like the ones about why humans kiss, the music one, the wolf one, and the odyssey walk :) Thank you for sharing.

[quadruplify]

You're very welcome!! :D

[lordes]

It's simple. If you're a killing Buddhist, you're not a Buddhist. You're just a killing man who feels close to Buddhism but doesn't get the hang of it yet.

Buddhism does not equal violence, and it never will.

It pains my heart to read that article.

[quadruplify]

Given what little I know about Buddhism, you're absolutely right.

Unfortunately, there seem to have been Buddhists fighting wars for as long as the religion has been around. And more recently there have been scandals of young boys being sexually abused in monasteries. Apparently, just like in every religion, you have Buddhists who use the tenets of their religion as an excuse to do horrible things. At least the vast majority of Buddhists out there know better. :/

[lordes]

I hope so.

sorry I speak so frankly about sex and stuff, so TMI WARNING I guess

[childings]

I'm pretty overwhelmed by all these links, I gotta say.

- www.salon.com/2013/03/17/my_tantric_awakening_turned_me_off_sex/

This lady has some other problems unrelated to sex, that's what I took away from this. I've had an orgasm that lasted over a minute before and I was crying, etc. (it's a pretty otherworldly experience to have an orgasm that lasts a long time and that's a lot of pleasure of the most intense variety for your brain to process, so it's not unusual that someone could have an intense reaction to that.) I didn't have any of the other problems this author did. I came away feeling like I usually do after sex, refreshed, energized, like something in my body has changed in a positive way (at least temporarily until I have to have sex again), a general feeling of fullness, nothing like the author describes. Honestly I chalk most of her problems up to lack of moderation in sexual activities (everything needs to be experienced in moderation IMO, that's the healthy way of doing things anyway) and I wouldn't be surprised if

Re: sorry I speak so frankly about sex and stuff, so TMI WARNING I guess

[quadruplify]

I'm pretty overwhelmed by all these links, I gotta say.

Sorry; that's what happens when I don't do this kind of thing for two months. ._.,

Honestly I chalk most of her problems up to lack of moderation in sexual activities (everything needs to be experienced in moderation IMO, that's the healthy way of doing things anyway) and I wouldn't be surprised if some of the commentators were correct, that she did experience a psychotic (or manic?) episode.

Now that you mention it, it makes perfect sense. I do find people who spend a lot of time thinking about and using sex to "explore" spirituality or themselves or whatever to be really obsessive, as if they're trying to be the next Marquis de Sade. Like, I'm pretty sure sex can be amazing with the right people and with good communication, and it's something I want to experience, but I'm pretty sure it's not that amazing, you know? It's sort of like using drugs to attains something important; obsessive drug users or sex-havers seem to go on about how you can achieve enlightenment or foster

I lost all my favorite icons :(

[childings]

- http://flavorwire.com/392560/the-gay-bechdel-test-why-hollywood-needs-to-expand-its-representation-of-lgbt-characters/

This article is spot on, I would add to this criticism that just about every movie I've watched where the protagonist(s) was/were gay, the movie is a) a coming of age story, b) about discrimination and fighting discrimination or a combination of the two, which gets old. There are very good films that fall into each of these tropes but I would for once, just like to see a typical movie that's like other movies, just with gay characters. Like a romantic comedy or a nice period piece or something, IDK. I still need to see Milk.

- http://io9.com/are-men-who-pay-for-sex-normal-or-just-weird-459038857

Have you ever read Chester Brown's graphic novel Paying For It? It's a

Re: I lost all my favorite icons :(

[quadruplify]

I would add to this criticism that just about every movie I've watched where the protagonist(s) was/were gay, the movie is a) a coming of age story, b) about discrimination and fighting discrimination or a combination of the two, which gets old. There are very good films that fall into each of these tropes but I would for once, just like to see a typical movie that's like other movies, just with gay characters. Like a romantic comedy or a nice period piece or something, IDK.

Nothing to add; I just agree with this 110%. ;-)

And yeah, Milk is actually a really good movie; you should go see it!

I've never had any issue with sex work as long as it is something the sex worker chooses for her/himself.I agree with this as well. As for being the one paying for sex, though, I guess if a guy really wanted to do it, he should be absolutely certain the person he's paying chose his/her line of work out of choice and not out of force. Unfortunately it seems like a lot of johns don't really care, which I'm sure is partly why they're stigmatized

[childings]

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/04/why-still-so-few-use-condoms/275301/

I don't like wearing condoms and I rarely do so this article made me feel much better. I mean, every time I had a one night stand I used one but with repeat partners I eventually dropped it, as long as the other person was tested for STIs and came out negative I didn't see the point. And it really DOES make a huge difference, those Norman Mailer quotes are absolutely spot-on.

I was surprised at the statistics regarding pregnancy and the pull-out method and that made me feel so much better, I had been so nervous about that (though after this week I won't have to worry about being pregnant anymore since I'm getting a tubal ligation). I also remember being a teenage girl and being so scared of that whole "pregnant by pre-cum" thing and I was interested to find that was a hoax, wow

[quadruplify]

Yeah, the most commonly cited reason why people don't use condoms is because they reduce sexual pleasure, and yet I've never seen any pro-condom campaign that addresses this. Which is really unfortunate because it's the cheapest and most effective way of preventing pregnancy and the spread of STDs. And I was really surprised about the pull-out method too; I was taught in school that you could get a girl pregnant through pre-cum. It's blatantly obvious we need better sex education in this country, but stuff like that really drives it home. (And it didn't help that my health teacher was also the varsity football coach. >_>;)

Good luck with the surgery! I hope it goes well, and that it doesn't keep you off your feet for too long. ^_^;