Archive for October, 2008
Fishnet/Sheer Stockings …a feminine myth
Monday, October 27th, 2008 | sex-appeal, style | No Comments
I guess we’ll just leave this modern day sexual symbol’s analysis for some other day/post. Because, sometimes, pictures really are worth a thousand words.
Courtship… again
Sunday, October 26th, 2008 | analysis, people, style | No Comments
Here we are, back to the courtship theme and all its marvelous issues. Because, dear friends, there are some things we find unacceptable in our tiny little world, that may be lacking innocence, but not charm, not daydreaming, not elegance. So, let us share to you all the very phrase that arouse our indignation: Am I courting you?
Sans Innocence is not the kind of narcissistic freak committed to believe all men should be courting her, and she did not receive this rather ingrate response from some random friend/acquaintance/guy on the street or someone else’s man. No. Sans Innocence got the aforementioned phrase from her boyfriend, with whom she manages to share a one-year-pretty-nice-relationship. And, in his defense, one must say he is really charming, graceful, polite and truly loves our main character here.
Further developments of The Phrase: Oh, yes, indeed, I was courting you at the beginning, when we started dating. This translates to me as: Well, we’re only using that very pleasing romantic ritual at the beginning, when we don’t know the girl very well and want to impress her, but after we reach some intimacy level with that lovely creature we just don’t see the point of courting her anymore, ’cause the relationship would go on anyway. Really? I mean, most successful couples I know have reached a certain number of years together because they actually kept dating. (Note: of course, each other, not other people…). How can you keep your butterflies in your stomach for longer if you stop regarding your significant other as some fascinating, mysterious stranger? How can you avoid taking his/hers love for granted? How not to be slipping into a boring routine?
To cut a long story short, my point is this: one should never get to think of The Other as a private possession, a part of him/herself or anything else one might dare to neglect. The Other is a wonderful and desirable fortress which is never truly ours, and which must be conquered again, every dawn. Therefore courtship, as you may see, is a must.
PS: the photo above is our way of recommending www.michaelfairchild.com for those of you interested in wild life photography and not only.
Nude Photography
Thursday, October 9th, 2008 | arts, sex-appeal | No Comments
When the new born art of photography made its first steps into the wild world of the 19th century, it soon became clear it was going to change the world forever. The way reality it reflected reality was something no one had never seen: real, strong, precise. That precise that it claimed different aesthetics and a different view upon the morality of arts. A painted nude is a painting, one can recognize it as artwork and place it somewhere faraway from the immediate, from excitement. Because it is a painting and only a painting, and no matter how accurate it would be, it will never look really real. But a piece of nude photography is something different. The person in the picture is right there, just the way she is in real life. Unbelievably similar. You can almost thing of touching her. You can desire her, fall for her, because you can tell she is real. And that, my friends, is a scandal. Or at least it was considered this way in the late 19th – early 20th centuries period. In France a whole bunch of nude photographies were called postcards – although it was pretty obvious they weren’t meant to be sent by mail – and, although, actually because, many men truly appreciated them, they got banned in some more religious, conservative countries of the time, such as the Ottoman Empire.
Later on, however, the works of artists such as E. J. Bellocq, Julian Mandel, A.H. Nicholls or Edward Weston brought into people’s attention the iridescent beauty of human forms, male and female alike, when “indecently” exposed. When there is truth, purity of thought and strength of expression one cannot make up any accusation of pornography. Art is having something to say and showing it indirectly, instead of saying. It is when any primal, basic, unrefined material gets past his usual borders and becomes light.
Love, wine, sparks
Monday, October 6th, 2008 | gourmet, style | No Comments
It is hard for me to remember an out of routine intimate encounter that could be considered, you know, alcohol free… Of course, I’m skipping here the twice-a-week love-making people usually experience in committed relationships. It’s the affair, the romantic surprise or hot anniversary I’m pointing at. Those evenings when you put your stilettos on, wishing for something perfect. When it’s a first, or a very special night in.
White in the summer, red and even hot in autumn and winter, wine is the drink most associated with passion, carnality and all lust in the world. Ever since the ancient times of orgiastic Bacchic rituals, the wine had a very special power, or raising sensuality and unleash inner forces. People were surpassing inhibitions, role playing, lies, and, in vino veritas, nothing but the naked truth was aloud in th game.
Nowadays, drinking wine it is as well an erotic ritual as it is a social one. When drunk moderately, of course. It brings people together, it brings up honesty and warmth in their relationships. It makes them more open, more adventurous. Shy people find their way to witty flirts, overcoming their tremendous self-awareness. It has, maybe, turned into a modern cliche, but having a wine with your loved one is an ultimate delight, and a sure, smooth way to some uninhibited bedroom stories. ‘Cause, it’s a good moment to share your kinky, usually half-repressed fantasies, isn’t it? It’s the time for misbehaving, and, sincerely, I don’t know a better recipe for long burning flames than ever spicy misbehaving.
So, if you have a special night-in planned for this weekend, pick up some lovely Chardonnay, or Sauvignon Blanc, and prepare to play. Wanna go for red? Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir will give a special flavour to your memories, because, dear friends, we truly desire to turn the moment into a true festival of all senses, don’t we? My secret recommendation here? Portuguese green wine, light and sparkling. It’s my personal favourite.
Yin, Yang and the melting pot (part II)
Saturday, October 4th, 2008 | analysis, mythical, style | No Comments
If we go deep, really deep within ourselves, we come to the point where we can realize where our Anima or Animus is, how it reports to itself or to us, and, most of all, where in our behaviour does it show its trickiness. Being aware of one’s Anima or Animus may bring significant improvement in this person’s life.
For instance, when we fall in love out of the blue it happens because we have met someone close enough to our Anima/Animus for it to project itself upon him or her. And so, for us, that person suddenly becomes the very incarnation of Masculinity or Femininity, as we understand and desire it, because it is our own Anima or Animus we are identifying her/him with. That’s why, in those moments, we feel that we are irresistibly drawn towards that wonderful, promising creature, that seems to have locked inside the very secret of our happiness, our fate, our meaning. When, later on, we unfortunately fall out of love, the whole initial magic doesn’t make sense anymore, sometimes the attraction we once felt gets beyond any understanding and there are also many unpleasant things about our former lover we can’t explain not having seen before.
The Myth of the Androgyn has its roots here, although the other half we are so eagerly looking for during our lifetime actually lies inside us. Being together with one or another of its projections may bring us temporary relief, may bring us human warmth and long moments filled with love, but when until the spell breaks we’ll still be incomplete.
However, when we become truly aware of our Anima/Animus, when we manage to understand it and to integrate it into our self, then we’ll get strong, real, wise, complete. It’s that very moment when we find ourselves, that very moment that sees our greatness as a wonderful, luminescent whole. We obtain a peace that will clear away all pain and fear. We enlarge out conscience and rise ourselves beyond this world’s delusions. We reach our true self, and everything that will happen afterwards will be different, meaningful. The love we’ll get will be itself more complete, because we’ll be able to see our significant other not only as a reflection of our Anima or Animus but for what he or she really is, and adore it as a whole. Our compassion and understanding will enlarge and our world will be richer and much more colorful.
But in order to get there we need long hours of introspection, of self-awareness in which to understand, accept and integrate what is different, and hidden, and yet, still within ourselves.