“Just Noticing”: Observations Of A Blogger
Posted by Michelle Moquin on May 20th, 2012
Good morning!
“Just noticing…”
…I have been hearing so much about this new trilogy of erotic writing that has women in quite a frenzy, panting as they read page to page. The first of three books is called “Fifty Shades of Grey“, and the author is E L James.
Here’s a recent write, although I have to say that the video with Ellen Degeneres steals the show.
Fifty Shades Of Grey Goes Viral
I couldn’t get away from it. My girlfriends were talking about it; columnists were writing about it; “Saturday Night Live” was spoofing it. It was all I heard about.
Then I was getting my hair cut in the quiet sanctuary of the salon I go to, but there was an unusual buzz all around me — and it was unmistakably those same four little words.
“Fifty Shades of Grey…”
What is going on?
Erotica has been alive and throbbing since the days of Ancient Greece and Rome, when someone scrawled those first steamy, toga-ripping words on a piece of papyrus. But in my lifetime, I’ve never seen a public reaction quiet as breathless (as in panting) as the collective sigh inspired by E.L. James’s erotic S&M series. Is it possible for an entire nation to have a simultaneous orgasm? Apparently so: the “Fifty Shades” trilogy now occupies the number one, two and three spots on the New York Times Bestseller List. Even Henry Miller never scored that threesome.
So I buckled under and bought the damn books. I finished the first one yesterday, and I have to tell you: I get it — though I went into this with my antennae way up. My long-held passion for women’s issues made me very wary about anything that puts women and violence on the same page — literally.
But Ms. James is smarter than that. Following the lead of Anne Rice and her neck-baring vampire series, she builds a love story between an unlikely, surreal couple, then proceeds to throw every conceivable obstacle in their path — primarily a damaged, abused and abusive, secretly vulnerable, seemingly incurable sadist as her leading man. Suddenly the question becomes: Can love tame this baddest of bad boys? That, I believe, has a lot to do with why “Fifty Shades of Grey” has successfully made millions of women’s knees wobbly across the country.
As for the sex parts, yes, the series shines a white-hot light on mysterious places in the human sexual psyche. But the secret sauce in this book — and, I’m presuming, the entire series — is that it’s also about power, specifically how one woman’s power proves to be the perfect checkmate for her man’s power.
When Anastasia Steele first meets Christian Grey, the relationship could not be more imbalanced — she’s a recent college grad and a virgin in all interpretations of the word; and he’s a gorgeous, brooding billionaire, so practiced in the dark arts of domination and bondage that he actually asks Ana to sign a contract of slavery.
But 500 pages later, the tables have turned. Refusing to sign on to a game in which her pain is his pleasure, Ana cuts Christian off with defiant indignation. In no unclear terms, she tells him that “vanilla sex” (his term for any kind of sex that doesn’t end in the word “ouch”) is what she wants — and besides, she loves him. And unless he’s willing to play it her way, she’s gone.
Does Anastasia ultimately lose this battle of the boudoir? Does Christian storm off in search of some other dungeon-worthy babe, only to discover that Ana has imprisoned his heart? I don’t know yet — I just started Book Two last night.
Meanwhile the debate goes on. Some mock the writing as pulpy and purple, while others find the story demeaning to women, while still others don’t care about any of that — they’re just using the book to put some spice back into their love life.
But in any case, we’ve been here before. Love it or hate it, every generation has had its “Fifty Shades of Grey” — from “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” to “Tropic of Cancer” to “The Story of O” and “Fear of Flying” — and it’s been fascinating to witness the heated conversations and online parodies this book has ignited across the country.
Take a look:
*E*R*O*T*I*C*
Readers: So…what are your thoughts? Has anyone read?
From the amount of comments this morning, I see that many of you were able to post. As always, thanks for being here. Blog me.
Peace & Erotic Love…
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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May 20th, 2012 at 9:53 am
I like the books, but to me it is just a retooling of the book “The Story of O.”
Cynthia
May 20th, 2012 at 9:56 am
I’m reading the books also, but I’ve gotten some damn good sexual thrills from this blog’s stories and poems.
These books have a lot to live up to.
Hello out there, what Miss/Mrs. has you all hot and bothered today?
Kaye
May 20th, 2012 at 9:57 am
Only available in this week’s issue of Human Events is John Bolton’s exclusive article on Obama’s foreign policy blunders and why Romney will keep us safer.
Bolton, a lawyer and diplomat, served as Ambassador to the United Nations under George W. Bush and is currently a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).
Bolton’s article, only available in this week’s Human Events newspaper, focuses on Obama’s foreign policy blunders, from his ‘blame America first’ mentality to his kowtowing to the Russians.
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May 20th, 2012 at 9:59 am
Walking Intensity
Q. I walk for 30 minutes each day, but I don’t know whether it’s considered “moderate intensity.” Is there an easy way to tell?
A. Yes, there are a few ways to tell. New research conducted at the University of California, San Diego, defines “moderate intensity” as 100 steps per minute.
An easy way to count this is to listen to (or hum) the song “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees as you walk—the song’s tempo is 100 beats per minute.
Of course, you can also simply apply the “talk test.” With this approach, you should be able to hold a conversation without having to stop for a breath between sentences.
In general, you want to walk at the speed you would if you were late for a meeting or walking to catch a bus. At least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week is recommended to keep your heart healthy.
Source: Simon Marshall, PhD, associate professor, department of family and preventive medicine, University of California, San Diego.
May 20th, 2012 at 7:02 pm
Cynthia, you’re right and retooled had me laughing thank you. I’m on a droid, or isihave more to say but I would say briefly, alls fair In love, war and In the bedroom. – ZL
May 21st, 2012 at 9:57 am
We are being set up for a nuclear accident by Nuclear Industry. They have bought and Paid for(BAPF) Bill Magwood who takes his orders from Alex Flint, the top lobbyist for the nuclear industry.
Magwood’s job is to see to it that the industry is not regulated well enough to protect the health and safety of the people. They want to ram down out throats more nuclear plants at huge tax-payer expense.
The GOP long owned by the NI is poised to fire Gregory Jaczko to appoint a new Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman who will do their bidding.
Mike
May 21st, 2012 at 9:58 am
We are definitely becoming a 3rd world nation. That’s what happens when you don’t prosecute the money changers
May 21st, 2012 at 9:59 am
We need to take control of corporations on a Federal level.
No corporation should be allowed to exist if they do not follow the federal and state mandates/regulations.
If they propose to deregulate or to dismantle these regulations at the peril of the best interests or health of the American people, then we have the right to dismantle the corporation.
We create corporation and we can dismantle them if they refuse to cooperate. We need to take control!!!!!!
May 21st, 2012 at 10:00 am
We say relax, the nuclear industry has 10B in insurance. Why, if San Onofre melted down in near San Diego that would pay for nearly 1,500 homes.
Well, ya, there’s more than fifteen hundred homes nearby but using lobbyists this becomes an extravagant sum of money that’s already too high.
You can hear the nuk industry squeal in pain and loose their lobbyists on Washington like flying monkeys when this is mentioned.
May 21st, 2012 at 10:01 am
Once again we see the regulated running the regulators. This is absolutely ridiculous – this is the very reason MSHA was unable to prevent the UBB disaster, why the MMA did nothing to prevent the Gulf Spill, why we have so many food borne illnesses in this country, etc.
Can we now expect a nuclear disaster down the road and point back to this forced resignation? We need to stop allowing the regulated industry to push around the regulators.
I do not want an FDA, MSHA, Nuclear Regulatory Agency, etc. head that industry is gushing over, I want someone who will hold the industry leaders feet to the fire and make sure they are doing what they are supposed to do.
May 21st, 2012 at 10:03 am
Yeah, I liked that too Cynthia. I have the books. But when I want a hot flash, I bring out one of the missives from “Ym” on this blog and get my high on.
Jenny
PS: So where are you Ym
May 21st, 2012 at 10:04 am
Maybe there’s a reason that the government doesn’t want that much regulation. If an accident happens, they can say that it was obviously somebody from Iran who sneaked in and did it and now we must retaliate.
May 21st, 2012 at 10:05 am
“Jaczko and the pro-industry commissioners clashed over his opposition to using Nevada’s Yucca Mountain as a depository for nuclear waste.
The commissioners further accused him of heavy-handed leadership when he put the NRC on emergency footing following the Fukishima disaster in 2011.
They argued that he was pushing forward too fast with costly new safety regulations.”
=======================
Of course they would do whatever they could to oust a Commissioner who’s trying to do the right thing.
God forbid we should ensure that our current nuclear power plants are able to withstand earthquakes or request safety regulations. Remember Karen Silkwood?
These are the same folks insisting that Mr. Jaczko “was pushing forward too fast with costly new safety regs.” Bunch of money hungry crooks who no more care about you and I than they do in ensuring USA nuclear plants are safe.
May 21st, 2012 at 10:17 am
It can be difficult to accept, but the plain fact of the matter is that, by and large, you just can’t have it all. What you CAN have is honesty, both with yourself and with others.
If you say you want a monogomous relationship – why?
Is it because you are desirous of a relationship in which you both are so “in synch” with one another that you wouldn’t WANT to be with another person, or is it because you are afraid of being alone/left/compared with others, a.k.a. insecurity?
If you say you want an open relationship – why?
Is it because your sex drive craves that kind of variety, even though you might be emotionally contented with one person, or it is because you really are NOT contented with the person you are with and need to vent your frustrations in a sexual release?
Most of us, if we are honest, will be able to see a bit of ourselves in each of these possibilities, but it can often be difficult to unravel our true reasons for wanting something.
The trick is to be as aware of our motivations as possible – starting with ourselves and then expressing it to others.
For some, monogamy really IS the preferred venue; for others, open relationships. The trick is to find others who are, for healthy reasons, on the same page as you -
if you want an open relationship, then AVOID someone who wants monogamy – it will only lead to anger, resentment and the end of the relationship.
May 22nd, 2012 at 12:26 am
JS-1,
some people have a hard time with the honesty required to really have an open relationship. It takes give and take on both sides, and is not for the jealous or insecure at all. More often than not, someone is at a disadvantage due to logistics (ex. canceling plans with the primary partner to go on a new date would/can get old or might bring up someone’s baggage unexpectedly)
or the honesty becomes an issue in these terms (how much does the other party want to know exactly, how much do you want to share exactly, etc…), it’s complex in its very nature bc some people define ‘honesty’ and disclosure differently than others and therein lies the rub.
Players (most often male but not always) usually don’t call what they do ‘open relationships’ they just do it and apologize when called out bc most of the ones who claim ‘open’ are not open, they like their cake and eat it, too, which is fine but they don’t really want their cakes out getting their own cake and eating it, too.
Kind of unfair but I’ll repeat – all’s fair (kind of) in love, war and the boudoir, oui?
I prefer to stay teased, connected and enticed with one until…I’m not…though things could change, I never say never, Anonz taught me that ; )
I enjoy some circular dating until agreements are made about who’s doing what (or should I say: who’s doing who? : ) most of the time this has been bc I like one more than others and I’m too busy to date lesser men just for the heck of it bc the heart wants what the heart wants (and timing/logistics-wise) I’d rather be with the emerging winner more…who knows if I’ll ever be in a LONG term relationship again, but hmm, how long is that long in long term anyway?
Luv, Zen Lill
PS need to reread Anonz’s comment again, it’s important and I’ve been predicting an uprising/full blown chaos surrounding the eleventh hour lead up and outcome of the US Presidential race, I can feel it…
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