Relationships

First it was Demi and Ashton and now Madonna is right behind her with Jesus (actually I think Betty played the cougar card with Eric before Demi and Madonna).  They've personally nabbed two of the hottest men in Hollywood who are 15-20 years their "junior" with 0 apologies.

According to a new study, these women have changed the way we all feel about dating younger men. Back in 2005, just 8 per cent of single women in their 40s and 50s said they would date a man five or more years their junior.  Today, more than a third said they would consider a younger man. 

It was so refreshing to know that, for women, there IS a formula for the ultimate male sex partner (we all know the formula for men thanks to porn). So here's the recipe according to psychologists Cindy Meston and David Buss:

We like them Tall.

Studies consistently find that women consider tall men to be attractive. In analyses of personal ads, 80 per cent of women state they want to meet a man who is 6ft or taller. Two studies also found that taller-than-average men tend to have a greater number of live-in girlfriends and more children, confirming their popularity for romance and reproduction.

This would be SO my luck: A US man allegedly robbed a woman outside her home - and then returned two hours later to ask her for a date.

Police say Stephen Bennett, 20, was one of three men who robbed Daniel Martinez Batista and Diana Martinez at gunpoint in Columbus, Ohio.

The late night robbery happened in a car park outside Ms Martinez's apartment, reports the Columbus Dispatch.  The three robbers fled with Mr Batista's wallet and Ms Martinez's purse after they were threatened by a neighbour.

But, less than two hours later, one of the three robbers returned to the apartment to ask Ms Martinez out, police said.  "We are not exactly sure what he was thinking at the time," said Columbus police Sgt Shaun Laird.

"She recognized him right away when he returned, and was able to have her cousin call 911."

Facebook disabled my account.  First, I thought it was a jilted ex then I realized that I was censored.  I only posted links to Betty's essays and our podcasts.  I can't tell you how much better I feel not having to deal with my facebook page:

Divorce cakes are all the rage.  Nothing like a hit of reality in this romantic love addicted culture of ours. One thing I found interesting: none of the cakes showed the guy kicking the woman out. That's unreal too.

But then most men cheat from time to time while "The little woman" is minding the kids, running the house, shopping and cooking meals. The category "running the house" is huge so I won't go into that. She doesn't even have time for a little afternoon sex play. One of the good things about women working is making connections in the office (thank you Helen Gurly Brown) and at business meetings.

There's a legislator in Albany who proposed that marriages would automatically terminate in 7 years unless you renewed them - no need for a divorce.  Marriage vows are changing to acknowledge that most marriages don't last a lifetime:

Kiwi couples are ditching promises of "till death do us part" and choosing what they consider realistic vows for their big days, celebrants say.  Many New Zealanders are moving away from traditional marriage vows, with phrases like "till death do us part" and "honour and obey" increasingly deleted from their wedding days.

A Christchurch marriage celebrant of 25 years, Anne Stubbersfield, said people were more realistic now about their chances of staying together.  Most still believed their marriage would be forever, but some vowed to be together just as long as their "love endures".

Kiwis still hoped for a lifetime together, unlike an Australian couple who reportedly vowed a "three to five-year agreement plus options" or another pair who pledged if their "love should falter or fail, I will respect you for the period that you were in my life".

Christopher Ryan's piece below on hooking up begs the question, "why can't we have sex without intimacy"? Oh please! The word "intimacy" is so over used by therapists, authors and the society at large with no real under standing of what the word means. What is wrong with a sexual friendship? It sure as hell beats a committed monogamous marriage where the couple struggles to get it up for sex until they finally give up altogether. I'm so tired of all the cheap moralizing from people who's own sex lives are lived in shades of gray.

I played the commitment game until after I got divorced from a fairly sexless marriage. From the age of 36 on I indulged in delightful casual sex of America's Sexual Revolution. Today I look back on that period with love in my heart and gratitude for all the wonderful folks who shared sex with me. Those days were filled with some of the finest moments of intimacy I've every experienced.  Thank you Steve Otero for the link:

NPR (National Public Radio) recently joined the ever-growing list of media outlets and authors expressing confusion and poorly-veiled condemnation of what they call the "culture of hooking up" a.k.a. "sex without intimacy." According to these no-doubt middle-aged sources, intimacy-free sex is sweeping the nation.