Sex News Roundup - Week of June 29, 2009

It's time to launch a new feature on The Mind Reels.

Every week*, I'll give you a roundup of notable--or notably wacky--news about all things sex-related. (I thought of starting a Worst Parent of the Week feature, but realized I'd get too depressed.) Now, normally I'd start a feature such as this on a Saturday, so I could use the "for the week ending July 4, 2009" designation, but today's news offered me two nuggets I couldn't pass up.

This Recession is So Bad that not Even Sex Sells.
That's the depressing headline on an article in this morning's San Jose Mercury News Business section, which reported on the annual Cybernet Expo conference in San Francisco. I'm not sure what was more interesting to me: the fact that times are tough in the "pay-per-view" sex industry, or that this conference didn't sound that much different from your average high-tech event, down to the breakout sessions on social media and the late-afternoon cocktails.

Man Demands Sex in Exchange for Lost Dog.
A convicted sex offender in the Los Angeles area demanded that a teenager give him cash or sex in exchange for the return of her lost dog Pineapple, a cocker-spaniel-toy poodle mix. And yet he's only been charged with "attempted extortion." Whaaaaa????

Got a good sex news tidbit for me? Send it on. Oh, and many thanks to Great White Snark, for giving me the idea for this feature.

* Note: "Every week" should be roughly translated as "hopefully every month" or "whenever I feel like it."

Podcast available: "Sex With Emily" show appearance on June 14

You can now download the podcast from my June 14 appearance on the "Sex With Emily" radio show on Alice 97.3 FM, talking about What Men Really Want in Bed. In fact, life is full of choices, because you've got a few options:

1. Visit Emily's website, www.sexwithemily.com.
Part 1
Part 2
A really nice next-day recap

2. Visit Emily's podcast page on the Radio Alice @97.3 website (www.radioalice.com). Just scroll down to the 06.14.2009 segments (Episode 92).

3. iTunes: Find the Sex with Emily podcast, and download Episode 92. I think my interview is broken into 2 segments.

I had a great time on the show. Emily's fun and cute and sweet, and best of all, she had read the book so carefully that she was almost more familiar with it than I am! We got some fun calls from listeners (thanks, Carrie!). I've never had an hour go by so fast. So check out "Sex With Emily," every Sunday night on 97.3 FM in San Francisco. I guarantee you won't be bored!

I'll be on the radio tonight!

I'm going to be a guest on the "Sex with Emily" show on FM 97.3 (Alice@97.3), along with Greg Behrendt, co-author of He's Just Not That Into You. The show runs from 9pm to midnight, but I'll be on at about 10:10-11:20pm.

Got a question you want me or Greg or Emily to answer? Send email to Emily at feedback@sexwithemily.com. Or you can call the show live at 800-400-FM97 (-3697).

For those of you who don't live in the San Francisco Bay Area, Emily posts podcasts after the show, so you won't miss out!

This Week at Preschool

I live for the almost-daily email reports that we get from my son's preschool teacher. Seriously, it's almost pathetic how excited I get when I see them in my Inbox, and how disappointed I am when she misses a day.

These updates are interesting only to me and a close circle of my relatives (as in, my husband, my mom and my mother-in-law), but I'm still going to post them here.

Tuesday 6/9/09
Our weather man Cameron had fun working with the connector blocks this morning. He made a sun with lots of hot rays coming out from it. He told me that today the sun is hiding in the clouds but that soon it will get too bright and it won't be able to hide there anymore. Then, after a long day of shining on people it will go down and the sky will get dark.

Wednesday 6/10/09
Cameron got out all the Legos and built a long train this morning. There was a lot of detail on his train. The cars were in a pattern: yellow, blue, yellow, blue. He had a seat for the conductor and he even included a smoke stack (because it was a steam engine).

Thursday 6/11/09
In the afternoon we did our Apple sensory investigation. It was so much fun and the children loved trying all the different types of apples….Cameron said his favorite part of the experiment was getting to taste all of the different apples. He told me that he thinks we should eat lots of different kinds of apples everyday for snack.

Friday 6/12/09
Cameron was really interested in puzzles this morning, he spent a lot of time at the table working on them all. He really liked the occupation puzzles and the emergency people puzzles. He would take one all apart and then put all the pieces back before moving on to the next one.

As the Noggin commercial puts it, wouldn't it be great if life were more like preschool?

Anatomy Lesson

Today's conversation between my son and his grandmother:

Cami: "Grandma, do you have a penis?"
Grandma: "No. I don't have a penis. I have something else. Do you know what it's called?"
Cami: "Yeah... umn..." (Thinks about it, then says) "You have a JayJay."
Grandma: "Yes, I have a JayJay."
Cami: "Yeah! And it's made in China."

I can't even comment on this one. I...just...can't.

AFA Event: Martinis and Manicures in SF

Attention all San Francisco Bay Area readers: The American Fertility Association is holding its popular free Martinis and Manicures event on Monday, June 9, at Nova Nail Spa in San Francisco. This your chance to get your questions answered about the reality of your biological clock, the effect of STDs on your fertility, environmental toxins and more fertility-related topics--all in a fun and friendly atmosphere. Here's the 411 from Vivian Rodriguez of the AFA:

What: Manicures & Martinis*, a 90-minute conversation and Q & A with Marcelle Cedars, M.D., UCSF Center for Reproductive Health

Where: Nova Nail Spa, 811 Mission Street, San Francisco, California 94107

When:Tuesday, June 9th, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM

Why: Because wise choices now improve your chances of having a child later.

Who: Women in their 20s and 30s

Cost: Complimentary! A credit card is required to hold your reservation. A fee of $50 will be charged if you no-show.

* Also available: The “Fertilitini”, an organic, alcohol free cocktail!

To make a reservation please contact Vivian Rodriguez at 646-861-3226 or vivian@theafa.org. For more information, please visit www.theafa.org.

And here's some information about the Manicures and Martinis event in Denver.

I'd like to go to the event, although evening events in San Francisco are hard for me these days what with my job and such. But if I go, I'll post a report. And if you go, send me yours!

Reading at Bookshop West Portal

As part of the Word of Mouth Bay Area (WOM-BA) Mini-Tour last Thursday, my co-author and childhood pal Dana Fredsti and I read from Secret Seductions at Bookshop West Portal in San Francisco. Here are some pictures:

Co-authors Dana and Cynthia in action...

Dana and Cynthia post-reading, and looking forward to a glass of wine.

The theme for the evening was "Guilt, Pleasure, and Guilty Pleasures." The other readers were the very talented Jill Wolfson and Catherine Brady. Guess who handled the "Guilty Pleasures" (and comic relief) segment of the night's proceedings? Yeah. Yours truly. The highlight of the evening was when the 8-year-old boy wandered in while I was reading about having sex in a car. Oh, did I feel guilt then.

Afterwards, we headed back to Dana's pad and quaffed a few nice glasses of a Brutacao Zin while her sweet cats scurried around us. Just the reward for our travails.