The Vent and Rant Thread

[ProfCrash]

I have not read 50 Shades of Grey, I have heard that it is awful, but I doubt that it is all that racy. The other option is that my Mother In Law is into stuff that is far more interesting then I give her credit for.

I have not read Harlequin Romances but the romance novels ones that I have read have not been all that racy, and I read the bondage ones. Some of the stuff posted at Literotica is pretty darn pornographic but that stuff is not published.

I do think there is a difference between words and pictures.

[poohbear_nc]

I would love it if lawn would only grow to a certain height and stay there!

If you want something green, but not grass, look into ivy or other types of flat ground cover. Don't need mowing or much trimming/maintenance, but raking/blowing leaves off in the fall can be challenging.

[bjones6416]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

I have not read 50 Shades of Grey, I have heard that it is awful, but I doubt that it is all that racy. The other option is that my Mother In Law is into stuff that is far more interesting then I give her credit for.

I have not read Harlequin Romances but the romance novels ones that I have read have not been all that racy, and I read the bondage ones. Some of the stuff posted at Literotica is pretty darn pornographic but that stuff is not published.

I do think there is a difference between words and pictures.

I agree with Prof. (I TRIED to read 50 Shades but was too offended to finish it. Not by the content, mind you, but by the terrible writing.) And Harlequin? All smoke, no fire.

Or maybe Prof and I, as women, define pornography differently. Or maybe I'm just playing the devil's advocate. But I agree, I think the written word is different from pictures.

[Freeshadow]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

I'd like to know why a woman can tell everyone she's enjoying reading '50 Shades of Gray' or reads another Harlequin Romance every week and nobody raises an eyebrow. But let a guy say that he likes pornography and he's branded 'pervert' for life!

Stitchawl

+1 on that. It's indeed a gap between standards applied. Plus that the fact that both literary and pictorial presentations of erotic topics can be (and sometimes are) done in a way which goes beyond the "meat for sale" attitude adding breathtaking beauty to the menu, often is simply ignored.

But that's still nothing.
Imagine the same situation and company you had in mind making your comment but change the topic from "porn" to "sex toys" It's not only a gap between standards - it's a friggin' canyon.

[dreams]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

If you want something green, but not grass, look into ivy or other types of flat ground cover. Don't need mowing or much trimming/maintenance, but raking/blowing leaves off in the fall can be challenging.

A past neighbor had ground ivy and it was a pain to keep cleaned out. It collected spiders and other small rodents not to mention snakes. The first thing the new neighbors did was to rip out the ivy... the wife hated spiders.

I decided I wanted to know what was out there and opted to have grass. *even though I complain about mowing, I, at least, know there are less critters out there*

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

I have not read 50 Shades of Grey, I have heard that it is awful, but I doubt that it is all that racy. The other option is that my Mother In Law is into stuff that is far more interesting then I give her credit for.

I have not read Harlequin Romances ......

Respectfully, I have to say that without reading them, you just don't know... May I suggest picking up one at your local supermarket to see for yourself. Horrible stuff, actually, as far as writing goes, but immensely popular with housewives! I've seen used bookstores that sell ONLY Harlequin Romances. They have THAT big a following!

I do think there is a difference between words and pictures.

There is, but it exists only in the mind of the individual. Some prefer writing, others prefer more visuals. But the World's most famous pornography, presented in almost every country (and outlawed in most of them until recently,) was in printed form. It was written by Donatien Alphonse François, better known to the world as Marquis de Sade, who was actually sentenced to death in absentia for his writings! Although a film has been made of his most famous pornographic work, "Juliette," it never achieved the fame that his written work received.


Stitchawl

[CWatkinsNash]

I'm not a housewife, but I've enjoyed many a Harlequin. Not all them are that steamy - they have imprints that run the gamut from prim and proper all the way to "clothes off on page two". No, they are not great literature, but I find many of them enjoyable.

The difference between pictures and words is not just in the mind. The pictures require other live humans to be involved. No, I'm not leading into a rant against porn. I own a tidy little stack of porn DVDs of my own. But it is an industry that has had incidents of predatory practices, though it's not quite as widespread as some opponents would like to make one believe. I won't purchase unless I'm comfortable with the studio involved. I also won't purchase imports, accept unlabeled discs from friends, or download from internet sources.

I don't have to consider any of those things with fictional characters that only exist in writing. Also, in writing, one can explore concepts that would be impossible in reality, especially since most adult films don't have big effects budgets.

I think that the written and the visual can each accomplish different things. I have no problem with people consuming either form, provided they aren't knowingly contributing to the harm of a human being (or animal) in the process.

[ProfCrash]

The concern that I have with the visual form is that it does strike me as exploitation and that many of the movies do not use condoms which is dangerous for the actors.

Personally, the movies do nothing for me.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

Respectfully, I have to say that without reading them, you just don't know... May I suggest picking up one at your local supermarket to see for yourself. Horrible stuff, actually, as far as writing goes, but immensely popular with housewives! I've seen used bookstores that sell ONLY Harlequin Romances. They have THAT big a following!



There is, but it exists only in the mind of the individual. Some prefer writing, others prefer more visuals. But the World's most famous pornography, presented in almost every country (and outlawed in most of them until recently,) was in printed form. It was written by Donatien Alphonse François, better known to the world as Marquis de Sade, who was actually sentenced to death in absentia for his writings! Although a film has been made of his most famous pornographic work, "Juliette," it never achieved the fame that his written work received.


Stitchawl

I read Justine (is that the book you meant?), and that joker was one sick puppy. Interesting book, though. Before committing their atrocities, the characters seemed constrained by an impulse to outline the philosophic underpinnings of their justifications for what they were about to do to their victims.

EDIT: No, I see you meant Juliette.

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I read Justine (is that the book you meant?), and that joker was one sick puppy. Interesting book, though. Before committing their atrocities, the characters seemed constrained by an impulse to outline the philosophic underpinnings of their justifications for what they were about to do to their victims.

EDIT: No, I see you meant Juliette.

'Justine' and 'Juliette' were DeSade's two most famous novels. He wrote others, and a slew of short pieces that were not necessarily erotic nor sadistic, but made his fame with the really sick stuff. And you're right, he really was one sick sumbitch. He was a philosopher more than pornographer though, and if you can find one of the expurgated versions of 'Juliette,' one without any of the Eros, so you don't get put off by his perversions, his philosophical reasonings are brilliant though really, really off the wall! And unlike so many other authors, he LIVED his philosophy to the max, rather than playing it out though his writings. Of course, he spent a lot of time in jail because of them... Oddly enough, much of that jail time was for speaking out against God, rather than just sexual crimes. I wouldn't have wanted to meet the man in a dark alley.

Stitchawl

[Freeshadow]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

The concern that I have with the visual form is that it does strike me as exploitation and that many of the movies do not use condoms which is dangerous for the actors.

Personally, the movies do nothing for me.

Well there are movies and movies.
Just making something commercially available isn't automatically exploitation.
Apart from that, there are enough people out there either self-recording or allowing an outsider to do so.

Even further apart from that. There's galore of photography of various quality styles and tastes

[PeterT]

Never assume!

This evening I needed to do a reset of my Kobo; some issues happened with it. No problem; I just do the nice logout on the device which removes the database on it, and it's reset to it's initial setup state (but without reverting to original firmware).

So I start the setup and get to the point where I am offered the choice of an over the air setup, or computer connected.

I choose computer connected and attach the USB cable dangling over my monitor.

No go; no noise of Windows detecting a device. I assume it's an issue with the beta firmware and decide to go wireless. All goes great, and then it's time to sync with calibre.

Attach cable and still no go!

Scratch head and pull on cable.

BLAST.. It's a spare cable not attached to a PC!

Sigh...

[orlok]

Here . Have a donut.

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by orlok

Here . Have a donut.

Give a man a fish and you feed him tonight. Teach him to fish and you feed him forever...

So instead, give Peter a handful of 'Cheerios.' Let him plant them, and grow LOTS and LOTS of donuts!


Stitchawl

[PeterT]

Yummm!!!