Into Temptation

Posted By jss on June 24, 2009

So her name was Maria, and Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina fell in love with her. And vice versa.

TheState.com has it all.

Exclusive: E-mails between Sanford, woman; Woman in affair declines interview

From Sanford to Maria:

… Lastly I also suspect I feel a little vulnerable because this is ground I have never certainly never covered before – so if you have pearls of wisdom on how we figure all this out please let me know… In the meantime please sleep soundly knowing that despite the best efforts of my head my heart cries out for you, your voice, your body, the touch of your lips, the touch of your finger tips and an even deeper connection to your soul.

From Maria to Sanford:

… You are my love … something hard to believe even for myself as it’s also a kind of impossible love, not only because of distance but situation. Sometimes you don’t choose things, they just happen… I can’t redirect my feelings and I am very happy with mine towards you.

So … does he catch a break from voters because he’s in a love triangle instead of a straightforward sex scandal? I’m guessing … not in South Carolina, he doesn’t.

He’s ditched Maria. He wants his family back. His wife says she wants to repair their marriage.

I wonder if we’ll ever get an honest answer to this question:

Was it worth it, Mark?

Because, when all is said and done … it might have been. You know?

Category: News, Quickies and Briefs | 1 Comment »
Tags: love letters, love triangle, maria, Sanford, South Carolina

Posted By jss on June 24, 2009

My favorite part of the Mark Sanford story is this:

“I developed a relationship with what started as a dear dear friend from Argentina,” Gov. Sanford said. “It began very innocently, as I suspect these things do, in just a casual e-mail back and forth. But here, recently, over this last year, developed into something much more than that …”

Isn’t that always the way?

I’ll admit, I wasn’t exactly worried about him. I am a little worried about his “dear friend” from Argentinia, who will be outed almost any second now.

I don’t think politicians are actually any more or less capable of keeping it in their pants than anyone else. But dayum, we ‘murricans sure get bent out of shape about this stuff.

Isn’t it nice that he didn’t make his wife Jenny stand next to him, like they all do? It makes me almost like him. I’d bet anything she knew he ran off to Argentinia, since apparently Sanford told his wife about the affair five months ago. 

“I have not heard from my husband. I am taking care of my children,” is what she told reporters a few days ago.

So she knew where he was.

Category: News, Quickies and Briefs | No Comments »
Tags: affair, Argentina, governor, Sanford, South Carolina

Posted By jss on June 24, 2009

Woman’s Day and AOL Living survey 35,000 married women; results are in the July issue of the magazine, or online here. The Today Show and MSNBC find it “shocking” that:

• 72 percent of those women surveyed have considered leaving their husband at some point. 57 percent sometimes regret their choice of spouse but 71 percent expect to be married to the same person for the duration;

• When asked about their sex life, more than half are bored in bed or choose the sarcastic “What sex life?” answer. 18 percent responded that it was “pleasant enough,” which sounds pretty grim, really. Just 10 percent said “amazing.” 79 percent want to have sex more often;

• Flirting is the same as cheating, to 60 percent. Two thirds trust their husbands. A third do not.

First of all, let’s point out that this does not seem to be what anyone would consider a scientific survey. Though I haven’t seen the methodology, there is no way a scientific survey would have needed or wanted 35,000 respondents. So these women were probably self selected … from among Woman’s Day readers. And self-selected survey takers are probably more likely to be the ones who are venting.

Still, I’m surprised in entirely different ways than the traditional media is shocked. I would have thought that almost every married person had thought about leaving, at some time or another.

And I’m wondering if the 10 percent who say they have amazing sex lives are part of the group who have affairs or are swingers.

What do you think?

Category: News, Quickies and Briefs | 1 Comment »
Tags: 35000, aol Living, marriage sex life, MSNBC, surveys, woman's day

Posted By jss on June 23, 2009

Regardless of whether *you* would have sex with Jon, or Kate, or both of them, you *know* that what they need is to have break-up sex.

With each other, I mean. Look at this picture of them. You can tell he wants her, right? He couldn’t be … you know … acting. Could he?

You know it’d be good for the ratings. They’d probably have to figure out a way not to show Jon’s penis or Kate’s pubic hair, though I don’t watch enough television, really, to know if such is still verboten.

And it might even be hot. For them, that is. For the rest of us, not so much. In fact, a live broadcast of Jon and Kate having break-up sex would probably do more to keep teen-agers from wanting to have sex than anything since that time they walked in on their parents.

I’m thinking of starting to try to collect some stories … for the blog and/or book … that would be based on people completing the following thoughts:

The best sex I ever had was when … ?

The worst experience with sex I ever had was when … ?

and, of course,

The funniest experience I ever had involving sex was when … ?

I have to look into a way to have voice comments. That would be fun …

Category: News, Quickies and Briefs | 2 Comments »
Tags: break-up sex best sex, funniest sex, Jon and Kate Plus 8, worst sex

Posted By jss on June 13, 2009

Ever since I first heard that “hooking up” meant having casual sexual activity with someone — which had to be about in the late ’90s — I have been predictably annoyed by the media freak-outs on the subject. Here we are in 2009, and hooking up is still a horrifying trend, even according to National Public Radio.

Sex Without Intimacy: No Dating, No Relationships

At least NPR finds the roots of “hooking up” back in the 1970s … we boomers want credit for everything. Though I could make a convincing case that contemporary hook up culture has its roots in the Stone Age rather than the Stoners Age … or anytime in between.

So I dashed off a quick, personal rant, and it’s published over in the Sex and Relationships section at AlterNet.

Hey Kids, Have Lots of Sex — It’s What Your Parents Did at Your Age

I did not write the headline, nor would I have. It’s catchy though, huh?

The essay is part ’70s reminiscence, part rant against the media-created stereotypes, part just joshing around. The incident toward the end of the story actually occurred at an all women’s college in Northampton, Mass, and I could probably find that coatroom again. I don’t want to, though.

The photo is from one of the all-time great alien hookup movies, Earth Girls are Easy, from 1989. I haven’t thought about the ’80s much lately … I have a half-baked hypothesis that people who became teen-agers in the ’80s feel really shortchanged, sexwise, because of AIDS and and the backlash against the ’60s and ’70s … AND, then, the backlash was sort of secretly over in the ’90s, and the hook-up was invented. If you were born in the ’60s … well, yes, in some ways, that was not optimal for your healthy sexual development, what with Ed Meese in charge of sex education and all. But you should have gotten over that by now …

Category: Essays, News | 2 Comments »
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Posted By jss on June 6, 2009

The latest is, the Australian guy who allegedly offered $3.7 million to have sex with the alleged virgin going by the fake name of Natalie Dylan … well, he backed out. And Natalie agreed to refund his $250,000  deposit.

It must be true because I read it in the New York Post, right?

‘DEFLOWER DEAL’ GUY PULLS OUT

Much as I bet I would like whoever Natalie Dylan really is, I continue to call bullshit on the virginity auction scam, which started last September. The media feeding frenzy over the story peaked in February. There’s nothing left but the fade to oblivion.

If “Natalie” actually got a bid of $3.7 million and the bidder actually put down a $250,000 deposit, I know of not a soul who would blame her for keeping the down payment and laughing all the way to the bank, virginity intact.

Anyone who wasn’t cheering for her audacious capitalism would be saying the damfool bidder got what he deserved. Am I right?

So the conclusion is kind of inescapable that there *was no deposit.* Because if there was, and “Natalie” kept it, she’d have to pay taxes on it.

Which would be fine, if she actually had the $250,000.

I’m saying that she doesn’t. Didn’t. Never did.

But, as always, I’m willing to be wrong.

I write to Natalie at the Bunny Ranch now and again, wondering if I can get any interesting news that way. The last time was May 15, and I got a response from “Madam Suzette.”

Dear Potential bidder,
Thank you for your inquiry about our virgin Natalie Dylan.
Good news for you.  Natalie has not teamed up with a virginity bidder as of yet.  So you are still in the running.
If you are interested in making a serious bid, please feel free to contact us back with your information.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Madam Suzette

Whoever Natalie is, I think she’s already been paid for her role in this. And probably didn’t have to fuck anyone, either.

Category: News, Quickies and Briefs | 1 Comment »
Tags: Australia, deflower, fraud, Natalie Dylan, pr stunt, taxes, virginity auction