How much have you, or are you, spending on Valentine’s Day? If the Retail Council of Canada can be trusted (have they ever lied to us before?), the answer is, not much. According to a survey by the council, 51% of Canadians who celebrate Valentine’s Day will spend less than
Continue readingTag: relationships
Political Potshots: To A Certain Someone Special
Please forgive me for waxing romantic. These things are always so much easier to write, instead of say. Yes, Valentine’s Day is coming up. Yes, we both make fun of Valentine’s Day (VD) Culture. But I cannot help it, I am a nostalgic fool. To a beautiful and amazing woman
Continue readingPolitical Potshots: A Letter To 16
Dear 16; I do not write this to embarrass you, or to overshare. That’s the great thing about remaining anonymous on the interwebs. I do not write this as amateur Buddha looking to impart valuable and sage advice. I write this as a parent who loves you and cares, looking
Continue readingThings Are Good: Caring People Have More Sex
It turns out that nice guys do get the girl (but not these nice guys), and nice girls too! Altruism has been linked to more sexual partners and better relationships. There is a growing body of research that connects people who are emphatic are good partners to have in life.
Continue readingThings Are Good: A Happy Partner Means a Healthy Self
Being in a relationship can have benefits of feeling good as long as it’s a healthy one. There’s now a bonus to couples that are happy: they are making their partners healthier. It turns out that having a happy partner can improve one’s health. “This finding significantly broadens assumptions about
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Imagine, Re-Imagine the Strawberries
i’m imagining it again tonight the mosaic tiles in strawberry fields in my ether in the intersection of idealist moonbeams and #BlackLivesMatter marchers swirling under the Manhatten hum [or is it a pulse?] feeling the tranquility of the mosaic despite being just steps from the Dakota. i didn’t know then
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Keeping safe at the corner of trans* and BDSM
Somewhere at the intersection of trans* and BDSM, this happened: “Three people have been arrested for allegedly keeping a transgender woman as a slave in the Ajax area of Natchitoches Parish. “… NPSO received a report Saturday night from a Robeline assistant town marshal that he had come in contact
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Keeping safe at the corner of trans* and BDSM
Somewhere at the intersection of trans* and BDSM, this happened: “Three people have been arrested for allegedly keeping a transgender woman as a slave in the Ajax area of Natchitoches Parish. “… NPSO received a report Saturday night from a Robeline assistant town marshal that he had come in contact
Continue readingThings Are Good: Smart People Trust Others
Oxford University researchers have concluded that the more intelligent a person is the more likely they are to trust other people. This is assumed to be the case because smarter people have a better at determining what sort of people they want to be around and self-select to be around
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Building Trust – Sliding Door Moments
Building a good relationship doesn’t happen in an instant. The good relationship requires a stream of small, often seemingly inconsequential, choices that build attunement empathy and sensitivity to your partner’s (and yours) need. John Gottman describes the process and also touches on the idea the CL-Alt which can start a
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse – Marriage Behaviours that Destroy Marriages.
I thought I’d share some useful advice about relationships and marriage. It will be familiar reading to those who have taken sociology of the family. Enjoy. “John Gottman’s FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE John Gottman, Ph.D., is a well respected psychologist and marriage researcher who reports that an unhappy marriage
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: The Geography of Emotions, A Conversation with Colin Mills
Saturday night, I spent almost two hours discussing the Geography of Emotions with Colin Mills. We explored the ubiquitousness of emotions, the male crisis around emotions, how emotions relate with cognition, and the betweeness of emotions. It was a fascinating conversation about a topic with wide implications for society, culture,
Continue reading350 or bust: TED Talk Thursday: There’s A Green Brain Inside Every Climate Skeptic
Journalist and educator Simran Sethi discusses why and how we engage, and how we can listen to, and learn from, other points of view. Everyone concerned about climate change, and working for a better future for our children, should listen to her wisdom. * SimranSethi.com Baltimore Sun: Climate and conservatives
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: Match.com Paired Colorado Woman With Aurora Shooter James Holmes
A perfect example of one of those WTF moments we encounter in life. A Colorado woman, “Diana”, says that Match.com paired her with James Holmes, the man accused of killing 12 people at the Friday screening of The Dark Knight Rises. Diana claims that she discovered Holmes’ profile among her suggested matches on
Continue readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: 15 Crazy Things About Vaginas… And Why I’m A Big Fan
“The idea that an adult man could be distressed by the word “vagina” is hilarious, and also deeply sinister.” – Sarah Ditum Dear reader, before we get to the 15 Crazy Things About Vaginas, I must torture you with my little story. You must understand why I, a middle-aged black male born
Continue readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: Canadians OK with office romance: Survey
A survey by the Randstad’s Global Workmonitor found that seven out of ten employees (59%) indicate a romantic relationships between co-worker are common in Canada. And two thirds (66%) approve. Makes sense, doesn’t it? Where else to turn to for love and comfort than someone you already know? After all, an office or company
Continue readingThe Five Finger Rules
This is pertaining to something I mentioned in my last article about how I hate dating rules. Why do I hate them? Because they’re stupid. They’re really really stupid. I typically don’t like using ad hominems in my arguments; however rules aren’t people, so insulting them is completely fine in my
Continue readingSex Early On: A Liberal Woman’s Perspective
Yesterday the ever so intelligent author of the Liberal Pugilist wrote an article pertaining to sex while dating. In summary, he was trying to make the point that a woman should not make a man wait for sex because she’s following a dating rule. Sex should just be done and
Continue readingHere’s a novel idea, get sex out of the way first and then see if friendship or a relationship will stick
This is what I find baffling when it comes to male and female sexual and relationship behavior: It’s almost an unspoken rule, but many women still believe that making a man wait for sex is the optimal strategy to end up in a relationship with him, and men can’t seem
Continue reading