HPV: “We don’t know.”

The human papilloma virus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection, and there is a lot of information and misinformation about it floating around.  Recently, I had an illuminating discussion with a gynecologist who claimed to be up on the latest research, and her basic answer to a pile of interesting questions was, “we don’t know”.  This seems a little ridiculous, given that the CDC claims that “at least 50% of sexually active men and women acquire genital HPV infection at some point in their lives”.

Blood, blood, everywhere…

Last week I was lucky enough to be invited to a special taping of blood-related kinky activities for Dave Navarro, for his upcoming show on the Independent Film Channel. Phil and August of the San Francisco Citadel had arranged for a variety of scenes to be performed in his presence, and since the shoot was allegedly showing a class with demos, they needed an audience of “students”, which is where I came in.

Dildo Specifications

“Fatty“, made by Square Peg.

6″ tall, head 5.5″ circumference, near base 8″ circumference.
“Great, smaller toy with a bit of a stretch in it. Beginner.”

Beginner?!??

Feeding the Ducks

I just finished reading Bonk: the Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, by Mary Roach, and really enjoyed it. It’s a delightful compilation of interesting facts about sex, and the science that has been done to study it, and is by far the most entertaining book I’ve read in a long time.  Here’s just one example passage from the book:

The world’s most experienced penile attachment surgeons can be found in Thailand, where, during the 1970’s, an estimated one hundred vengeful Thai waives… sliced off the penises of their adulterous husbands as they slept. …. More commonly, the women would hurl the penis out the window. Many rural Thai homes are elevated on pilings, with the family’s pigs, chickens, and ducks tending to mill about seeking shade in the space underneath. It is not, oddly, the pigs, but rather the ducks, that the castrated Thai must worry about. The paper does not provide the exact number of penises eaten by ducks, but the author says there have been enough over the years to prompt the coining of a popular saying: “I better get home or the ducks will have something to eat.” [pp. 187-188]

Other bits that stuck in my mind include a hilarious section on uptight Danish pig farmers learning to arouse their sows (apparently there are higher fertility rates for AI when the sows are aroused prior to the actual insemination) and a very amusing section on “collections” found in people’s asses (in ER rooms). I highly recommend it.