Fifty shades of irrelevant to the women we respect

Smurf Silva says:

11:12am | 23/10/12

There’s nothing wrong with reading trash - or at least that’s what I tell myself as I read all my trash! :p

I am a reasonably intelligent, self-sufficient and independant woman who’s every breathe does not hinge on the man in my life, who also reads trashy romance novels. The reading of said novels doesn’t make me any less intelligent or independant. They are just fluff that are great for escaping the daily grind. As is most fiction, this is just one more genre.

Ohcomeon says:

11:34am | 23/10/12

Really whats your point? I know many well educated, erudite and intelligent men who choose to spend their time watching football. Sometimes everyone likes a bit of ‘rough’

Markus says:

12:02pm | 23/10/12

@Ohcomeon, just pointing out the sheer level of denial involved in the whole thing.
Nobody will admit to having read it or at least liked it, yet it somehow still managed to be a bestseller, as did its two follow ups.

If women like the books, fine. Why feel the need to deny it, or justify it, or go to this level of analysis of how women shouldn’t like it, and whether the fact that they do is evidence of other deep-seated issues.

Admiral Ackbar says:

01:00pm | 23/10/12

“yet it somehow still managed to be a bestseller”

Which, people need to keep in mind, says absolutely nothing about the actual literary quality of the novels, just that people will by all kinds of useless shit.

Intelligent independent woman who hasnt read the b says:

02:43pm | 23/10/12

Hallelujah Admiral Ackbar!

Grant says:

04:16pm | 23/10/12

Eh, it’s just porn in book form. The women can tell themselves whatever they like, but it’s clear as day, they like porn.

John Wayne says:

05:22pm | 23/10/12

I used to kill a whole bunch of Indians, kiss the woman I loved on the cheek, turn my back on her, mount my horse and ride off into the sunset. All the while thinking what a fucking idiot these producers and image makers are turning me into and I hope none of these dumb men copy my stereotype. But the dumb fucks did.

jade (the other one) says:

12:02pm | 23/10/12

The problem is not defining part of yourself as “lower_case_andrew”‘s wife. The problem that many women have is that they have no conception of who they are apart from a girlfriend or a wife. When they are not in a relationship, they are lost. They have no identity of their own.

For myself, I am a girlfriend, an English teacher, a friend, a colleague, a Girl Guide Leader, an atheist, and a host of other things. All of these things make up my identity. When I am single, I can deal with not being a girlfriend. It doesn’t make me question my worth, my value, or whether I am loved and appreciated. I can accept that while I am not valued by a male in a romantic sense at this point in time, I have value in a host of other areas. Some women cannot do this, and will put up with abhorrent treatment, rather than leave because they do not perceive themselves as having worth outside of the bounds of their relationships with men. I would assume that your wife perceives herself as a valuable, worthy person outside of the bounds of your marriage. I would assume that you do too.

That is what makes them vacuous, needy, and airheads.

SydneyGirl says:

01:46pm | 23/10/12

“women cannot do this, and will put up with abhorrent treatment, rather than leave.”

To be fair men do this too for a variety of reasons. 

I agree with Andrew on this. Some people are needy (which is really a pop psychology word, its more that they thrive and feel centred with other people/a partner around).  This doesn’t automatically mean they are idiots with little thought in their head and dreaming of little else than being ravished by Mr Grey.

You seem very judgmental Jade.  Sort of like the brigade of folk here who seem intent on telling us I, I, I…......now that kind of stereotyping doesn’t feel so good does it.

lower_case_andrew says:

10:16am | 23/10/12

@Calamity Jane

“Cannot agree more, I have lost actual respect for women that I know who have read this book and enjoyed it. “

Really?  You’ve lost respect for someone, because they dared read (read!) a potboiler book, and they enjoyed it?

That strikes me as harsh, and judgemental.

Do your friends all approve of all of your reading choices?

My wife has just finished all three Shades books. She enjoyed them.  I’m not going to read them because (a) they’re not my cup of tea, and (b) they’re not designed for me.  But if my wife wants to read them, that’s entirely up to her.

She doesn’t nag me, or lose respect for me if I read things she doesn’t like.

In other words, she’s open-minded. An attribute more women and men could develop…

Chris L says:

10:19am | 23/10/12

“are women really that sexually repressed?”

Probably not, but it can easily seem that way to guys. From our perspective women always seem to want the exact opposite of what they ask for/demand and we seem to be required to read minds.

On the other hand, my understanding of the woman’s perspective is that their needs should be obvious and therefore they don’t want to have to ask for what they want. Such things, however, would only be obviously to those who think the same way, which is not men.

All too troubling for me as I confuse easily.

Smurf Silva says:

11:15am | 23/10/12

@Calamity Jane:

So I can assume you ONLY read the likes of Tolstoy, Doestoyevsky, Dickens, etc etc because anything else is just not respectable…

jade (the other one) says:

11:38am | 23/10/12

@lower_case_andrew - it speaks to the taste level of women that read this tosh and enjoy it. It is poorly written, formulaic, and boring. I judge people’s values, attitudes, taste level, ethics, and education based on the books they choose to read.

People’s chosen reading material tells me a great deal about their prospective value as a conversationalist, a counsel, or a friend.

Fiddler says:

11:49am | 23/10/12

do people still have dinner parties anymore, or have we gone back in time about 30 years, can’t wait for the fondue and homemade pate.

Calamity Jane says:

12:00pm | 23/10/12

@lower_case_andrew - it usually takes a lot for me to judge people Andrew but for some reason 50 Shades pushes my buttons - it’s poorly written juvenile fantasy ‘clit lit’ - it bums me that grown women like (love) this stuff - and yes, sadly it makes me view them differently.  Great that you and your wife have a mutually repspectful relationship - props.

@smurf silva - I only read non-fiction.

@jade - you pretty much nailed it - thank you!

PsychoHyena says:

12:01pm | 23/10/12

@jade, well I would be an absolute bore then because when I was younger I read Grug, Spot, etc. My reading habits have changed since then of course but obviously my having read such puerile and juvenile books would make me a poor conversationalist.

Just for the record, I read absolutely everything even if I don’t enjoy it or think I won’t enjoy it. I put that effort in to better understand the people I might meet in everyday life and so that I can make my decisions about texts based on knowledge rather than uninformed opinion.

@Smurf Silva, it’s interesting that those authors are considered respectable by the general population, when the content of their works were considered highly offensive at the time of writing.

Pattem says:

12:03pm | 23/10/12

@ChrisL “Are women really that sexually repressed?”

In this enlightened era of Feminism and Equal Rights, why should any woman feel sexually repressed?  Do women in this day and age not feel sexually empowered?  Does a lifestyle closer to Equality with men mean that women look at sex differently compared to in the past?

Smurf Silva says:

12:06pm | 23/10/12

@ jade (the other one)

That’s a rather narrow minded way to lead your life. I read the shades series. They were recommended to me and they were reasonable fluff. I also read Twilight - again recommended to me. Would I read either of these again? Probably not, but at least I gave it a go and judged for myself.

Do I read trash? Yes. Does that define who I am as a person? No, because believe it or not, I don’t ONLY read trash. But I don’t subsist on a literary diet of solely dry, intellectually respectable tomes either.

So how about jumping down from your high horse before you get dizzy from a lack of oxygen and joining us mere mortals on the ground?

Ohcomeon says:

12:13pm | 23/10/12

Jade, what a load of pretentious garbage.

Ive read a large part of the western literary canon, and I also love a Matthew Reilly book. I dont see any contradiction.

You want to judge my intellect based on the Reilly book then go ahead, its your call and your prejudice.

Fun, you should get some.

lower_case_andrew says:

12:39pm | 23/10/12

@jade

” I judge people’s values, attitudes, taste level, ethics, and education based on the books they choose to read.”

Oh dear.  Judgemental, priggish AND smarmy.

I’m guessing you don’t get invited to parties too often.

Here’s an idea: get over yourself.  Care less about what other people do and think, care a bit more about people, fullstop.

Markus says:

12:59pm | 23/10/12

@Fiddler, I always thought Dinner Party was a clever euphemism for piss-up, just with the beer bong having been replaced by merlots and single malt scotches.

jade (the other one) says:

01:40pm | 23/10/12

@lower_case_andrew, Psycho_Hyena et al.

It’s funny how you assume that because I stated that I judged people based on their literary tastes, I must be priggish, boring, and unpopular. It is a sad statement of affairs when one must have read titlating garbage which started as a fanfic of moralistic, emo porn aimed at teenagers to be considered interesting.

I guess I have slightly higher expectations of people and their ability to converse on topics other than “How totally incredibly sexy Christian Grey is.” or “Which popular actor would totally be able to portray Christian Grey the best.” Which seems to be the only topics of conversational virtue offered by these “books”.

I also find it a sad indictment on our society that the default assumption of the reading of well-written books is that the person reading them must be boring, priggish, and judgmental.

What a sad statement on society’s valuing of the improvement of one’s mind and understanding.

And for the record, I tend towards books and authors that would make the most hardcore 50 Shades fan blush or titter with disgust about my lack of moral centre.

Draconian says:

02:13pm | 23/10/12

I assume people read fictional stories like this because reality sucks.

I haven’t yet read any of the Shades books but that’s only because I’m more into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Fiction like a Song of Ice and Fire.

Is there really any need to call people names or dislike them because of what they read?  I mean, really?  If so, then I’m dissapointed in those that think they’re better than anyone else.

Ally says:

03:56pm | 23/10/12

I read a mixture of so called “proper books” and trash. Some nights when I get home from work I want to read a trifling piece of entertaining rubbish that requires little thought and can be picked up and put down easily. If someone judged me on the basis of me reading these books alone, I’m guessing they’re not the sort of person I’d want to talk to.

I’d much rather talk to someone that noted my reading material and actually took the time to ask whether or not I enjoyed it or wanted to discuss it in general. Chances are I’d probably have the same negative opinion on the rubbish book that they did and we could have a laugh over poor writing, thin characters and colourful euphamisms for penis.

Having so called “better taste in books” doesn’t actually guarantee you’ll be a better conversationalist or even person. It could just mean you’re a poser that likes to be seen with the right thing.

Smurf Silva says:

04:45pm | 23/10/12

@ Calamity Jane

You only read non-fiction. Cool beans. That’s what you enjoy, then have at it. But don’t judge me because I enjoy a bit of mindless fluff aka Fifty Shades and its ilk.

@ Psycho Hyena

I know, that was actually why I chose those authors. I was wondering if anyone would pick up on that nugget.  PS: I think you might be my soul mate! :p

Warren says:

10:18am | 23/10/12

I don’t think it necessarily said intimate time with their bloke!

Mack says:

11:30am | 23/10/12

You are seriously weird if you (or any woman, for that matter) has ‘rape fantasies’. Rape is not about sex, it is about power. Men who rape women hate women.

lower_case_andrew says:

12:58pm | 23/10/12

@Mack

That’s not true.

Yes, some rapists are woman haters.  They tend to be serial abusers of women (and possibly men).

But, many rapists are not woman haters.  If they consider women at all, it’s as sex objects.  They want sexual gratification.

These latter rapists are mostly opportunists: attacking some girl after a night on the piss, acting tough with the mates, taking advantage of a drunken girl at a party, etc.

Anyway, there’s a world of difference between rape fantasy and actual rape.  Just as there’s a huge difference between watching some horror film, and actually being stalked by a knife wielding maniac in a dark house.

Those people conflating fantasy with reality are usually doing so for ideological or political reasons. i.e. trying to tell others how they should think and feel.

Anna C says:

01:12pm | 23/10/12

Mack, for the record no I do not have rape fantasies but I know of some women who do.  It doesn’t actually mean anything.  it is just a FANTASY.  The same way that many people fantasise about swingers or S&M but it doesn’t mean they are actually going to join their local swingers club or S&M club because it is just a F_A_N_T_A_S_Y_. You dig?

Ohcomeon says:

01:27pm | 23/10/12

Mack,

many women Ive known, that werent totally prudish had some sort of submission kink. This can be playful or serious, but many many women want to experience it in a safe environment. Its no weirder than any of the things men want to do.

Ally says:

11:01am | 23/10/12

This is a good point. Mind you, even in a lot of trashy reads you’d be hard pressed to find female characters as insipid and unworthy as the two in Twilight and 50 Shades (who are essentially the same character considering 50 Shades is Twilight fanfiction). Even the old mills and boon characters are more likely to be less of the helpless, simpering virgin.

I don’t really have a problem with women looking at fictional characters and thinking they’re swoon-worthy. Hell, I’ll often debate the merits of various characters with one of my best friends and more often that not it’ll focus on the swoon factor. The problem I have is that some fans of 50 Shades and Twilight actually seem to think that the male lead is this fantastic romantic man, when in actual fact he’s a fricken psycho.

Markus says:

11:05am | 23/10/12

Poor naive ibast, totally oblivious to the truth that all portrayals of fictional female characters are part of a greater sinister plot to enslave women with soppy fantasy romance, something are absolutely not normally interested in.

Admiral Ackbar says:

01:17pm | 23/10/12

“Its merely an expression and everyone is aware that it is not real life.”

Oh I don’t know SG, I read that excerpt from the novel and it made me cry. I literally cried like a baby for a half hour just thinking about how much money the ‘author’ is making from the ability to just be terrible at one thing but do it anyway.

I’m going to write my own damn novel, and it’s going to be about a time traveling space cowboy ninja entrepreneur who is like, a total jerk,although for some reason awesome at communing with old people and doing math. His language is the language of punching (which sort of conflicts with his ability to talk to old people), and it’s about how he just gets to sex all these chicks or something. I don’t have a title yet, maybe ‘Punchmaster the Sexploder’ or some such, you know, to sell more copies.

“A lot of this is just fantasy.”

I’m more going for the romantic comedy action scifi porn musical doco.

sunny says:

01:53pm | 23/10/12

Dr Whohansolo Sarutobi-Zuckerburg ..would be a good name for a time traveling space cowboy ninja entrepreneur character.

SydneyGirl says:

02:19pm | 23/10/12

LOL Admiral.  The more terrible a thing, the more the $$$.  They are a refreshingly candid couple though - the husband put out his own novel and said he was quite happy for it to be advertised as from the husband of the author of 50 Shades!

Go for it! I am already imagining a book series with SEXPLODE! written on it

PS: You have to admit that the title is genius.

Admiral Ackbar says:

02:34pm | 23/10/12

Thanks sunny, I’ll cut you in once I’m rolling in the fat stacks.

London Calling says:

02:56pm | 23/10/12

@SydneyGirl

‘Game of Thrones features a lot of taboo stuff’

Apart from Jamie and Cersei being brother and sister, I don’t recall there being any other ‘sexual taboo’  features, or maybe it was just me.

Have not read 50 Shades of Gray, so cannot comment, apart from the author being chuffed at the bank account. 

As you say ‘A lot of this is just fantasy’,  and I agree,  fantasy/fiction have been around for a long while, and have made some of their authors very rich.

TheRealDave says:

03:09pm | 23/10/12

Excuse me Sydernee Girl but 50 Shades of Grey has nothing on the Dwarf rooting awesomeness of GoT

sami says:

03:13pm | 23/10/12

@Admiral Ackbar I would read the shit out of that book. It does sound like you’re basing it on Chuck Norris though, so that’s to be expected.

TheRealDave says:

03:44pm | 23/10/12

I’m going to write a Romance Novel that has the heroine pining for her buff man who is the answer to all her girlhood dreams and ambitions…and then have a bloody war movie break out during it and have everyone bayonetted and machine gunned to death with tanks and planes and giant flamethrowers and stuff.

See how chicks like it when their shit gets ruined with pointless crap!

SydneyGirl says:

03:45pm | 23/10/12

LondonCalling I started reading GoT and well…I found it rather florid and badly written (no offense to its fans!) so I am basing it on reviews which seem to suggest incest and rape but I maybe wrong and perhaps its just a few Christians up in arms about the show:)My point was it has a lot of stuff that is politically incorrect today but by setting it in medieval times you can put in violence, cruelty, incest etc. and get a few thrills out of it which is perfectly OK. 

Re the point below I don’t think men always write better female characters (50 shades is hardly a benchmark of any sort and GoT is a very different genre so there you go RealDave!) but I think men often write witty pornography (the humour in 50 shades is - well - unintentional!).

And yes the Admiral is on fire today!

TheRealDave says:

03:56pm | 23/10/12

If GoT taught me anything its that incest is totally OK when the chick is smokingly hot.

Well that and children born of adultery are moody tossers or outright homocidal…..

Admiral Ackbar says:

04:19pm | 23/10/12

Sami that’s where the doco aspect of the movie comes in, he’d probably play the lead, or maybe the wisened mentor and love interest/ dominatrix of the main character but the story would be told from the p.o.v. of Chucks beard.

“The more terrible a thing, the more the $$$.”

So true, just look at Avatar, clearly just pocahontas in space.

I’d start on my idea for this story asap guys but I’m far too lazy. In any case I was wondering how the musical component would work for a novel, and then I thought I could just include a recording of the soundtrack that would contain all the music, plus me pretty much providing all of the sound effects by making exploding/ lazer/ ninja/ sex noises with my mouth and maybe an old synth.

Hah, TRD that’s it, lul them into a false sense of security by starting off as a romance, then BAM! war movie. You can get away with this and sell millions by calling it a ‘twist’, with maybe a quote by M. Night Shyamalan on the cover saying how bizarre and totally unnecessary the twist is.

Elphaba says:

11:56am | 23/10/12

*fairly small minority.

I need another holiday… :(

Admiral Ackbar says:

01:24pm | 23/10/12

“I think it’s funny that women read it on the train where everyone can see them. If there was ever a time to embrace the e-reader, this is it.”

I think this, along with women openly admitting they read it and making a deal of it is kind of just an attention seeking device. In that they’re trying to say ‘look at me, I’m totally not a prude and into some weird shit and nothing offends me, ask me how rad I am’, when in fact the reality is that the kind of stuff I’ve heard about in the books wouldn’t interest many women in the slightest, but they’ll say otherwise to appear edgy and cool. Could be wrong, but it’s the vibe I get.

“Remember the Da Vinci Code?”

The most terribly written piece of fiction I’ve ever read by a mediocre author at best. Yet he probably has a money pit that he swims in because of it.

Louise says:

02:12pm | 23/10/12

Ooh the Admiral is good.

Bitten says:

04:40pm | 23/10/12

I haven’t read the books. I reflected recently that I haven’t read a new book in years. This is a tragedy.

That said, I don’t think I’ll be picking up 50 shades to read on my upcoming holiday (sorry Elphaba, not meaning to rub it in but first holiday in 18 months. am. so. excited!) I have several single friends who have the first one (don’t know if any of them pressed on for the full trilogy). And apparently the girl says “Oh my” a lot when she orgasms.  And she orgasms a lot.

I’m more into crime and mysteries myself.

That said, I’m a bit flummoxed by the strident and illogical nature of the intellectual snobbery being flung about in this case. Sure, plenty of people are reading this stuff - those best-seller figures are a big clue! And it’s no secret that the books are quite bad from a literary perspective (case in point “oh my”). But surely the objective ‘badness’ or ‘goodness’ of a particular product all comes (sorry) down to what you’re using it for. How many people who have read the books do so for the fantasy (whatever floats your boat) and how many are doing it because they are convinced the literary quality of the writing is on par with that of Tolstoy?

To suggest an analogy: porn movies get reviewed too you know. No one thinks porn films are the bastion of fine acting, so nominations for Academy Awards are probably thin on the ground - that’s a given. But porn reviewers review the films based on how ‘good’ they are at what porn films are used by the majority of clients for. Surely it’s the same for these books? People aren’t reading them to get their literature off.

Hoppity says:

04:43pm | 23/10/12

I am now seriously considering the quality of my PA.  She bangs on about both 50 Shade of Grey and Supernatural.  Twice I’ve had to wander out of my office in the last couple of weeks to ask her if it would be possible to stop the 40minute conversation she is having in the tea room (having only arrived in the office 60 minutes previously).

I am seriously considering asking a question in interviews along the lines of “What was the last book you read?”.  That way I could really weed people out. (and in the spirit of the times, I’m not sexist, I’m a woman).

Admiral Ackbar says:

05:17pm | 23/10/12

@ Louise, thanks, that’s going straight to my head.

@ Hoppity - That sounds like a solid plan, but then you’d be discriminating against people with poor taste which could get you in trouble. I like the fact that some people advertise their like of Twilight and 50 Shades because it makes it easy to identify the people I should avoid.

Louise says:

05:32pm | 23/10/12

Bitten, maybe most people don’t care about the writing, but some women I’ve spoken to who read it - to see what the fuss was about - complained about the stupid, unrealistic dialogue, so evidently they were looking for more (and I’d argue similar criticisms could be made of pornography).  There’s no reason it couldn’t have been written well - couldn’t have been improved by better writing - especially when it’s hardly groundbreaking material.

I confess I probably am a reading snob.  Doesn’t mean I think I’m better than the women who devoured that book - just that i can’t relate to their conversations about how great it was, and I have no interest in reading it simply because everyone else is if I’m pretty sure I’m not going to enjoy it, like some book form of “Big Brother”.

Bitten says:

05:57pm | 23/10/12

@Louise: if people are out there proclaiming Fifty Shades as the modern literary equivalent of Anna Karenina, by all means get in there and take them down a peg, goodness knows it won’t be hard.

What is perplexing to me (and the point I was trying to make in my original post) is that I haven’t seen anyone actually doing that - so why are literary snobs behaving as though someone has suggested E L James is the post-millenium Tolstoy? It’s badly written literary trash and it would appear that most if not all people who are reading it know that.

What can I tell you, some people don’t stake their claim to intellectual legitimacy based on their reading list. I certainly don’t, I’m a Patricia Cornwall fan from way back - In Cold Blood it ain’t.

A more apt analogy would be that these books are the equivalent of Teen Pussy (1, 2 and 3). I haven’t heard of anyone getting off to Big Brother. People are reading 50 shades to revel in a sexual fantasy and, I infer, to get themselves off. I couldn’t tell you why anyone watches Big Brother.

And yes, I just made those porn movies up.

lower_case_andrew says:

01:09pm | 23/10/12

@K2

“If its 50 shades of irrelevant, then why so much media attention over it?”

Indeed.  Answer: $$$$

And from Lucy:

“Fifty Shades of Grey has a lot to answer for.”

Does that include page hits?

Pop culture + controversial opinion + dissing = $$$$$

Admiral Ackbar says:

01:34pm | 23/10/12

Reminds of the line from ‘As Good As It Gets’

Receptionist: How do you write women so well?

Nicholson: I think of a man, and take away reason and accountability.

CK says:

02:05pm | 23/10/12

AGoT not exactly a ‘new’ series, the first in the series (season 1 of the show) was published in 1996….fans have been waiting a lonnnng time for that to come out on tv!

Chris L says:

02:43pm | 23/10/12

Reminds me of Sinead O’Conner saying that songs about female empowerment are better when written by men.

She finished by retitling one woman’s attempt as “I am woman, hear me fart.”

Kika says:

04:32pm | 23/10/12

No, we just like knocking other women to make ourselves feel better about ourselves and that ‘we’re so much better than them’.  Women are weird creatures. It’s our instinct. We can only be pregnant for 9 months at a time whereas a man can spread his seeds freely. We are in constant competition with each other.

St. Michael says:

01:48pm | 23/10/12

You could’ve just given us a Wikipedia link to “Apollonian vs. Dionysian” and saved us all the trouble, dude.

PsychoHyena says:

02:18pm | 23/10/12

@Richard, you are right and a lot of women that have the whole anti-dominance approach have the reactions you’re talking about but have been taught it’s wrong to have those feelings. I have seen some very messed up women from that. They have desires that they don’t want to talk about because they’re worried about getting the reaction that Mack above gave and as a result this impacts on their relationships.

Yes, there are, like men, some women who don’t have those desires/fantasies however there are also men who have the whole being dominated desires just as there are women who have the whole being dominant desires.

I once read an article by a Dom who said that the women most likely to be submissives are those that have a great amount of self-recognised success in their normal lives and are looking for a moment of having someone else take control of their lives, be it an hour, two hours, a day, whatever, that chance to get rid of all their responsibilities refreshes them to further their success.

SydneyGirl says:

02:21pm | 23/10/12

St. Michael, ace!

I get all my A/D from rereadings of The Secret History.

K2 says:

02:22pm | 23/10/12

@Richard, interesting but I think you’ve underestimated the power of the neo-cortex.  It can over-ride all those other sensations by the “lower brain” systems thats why the mammalian brain is the highest order evolutionary brain…  It only works on people kept in left/right brain dichotomy and cognitive dissonance which sadly most people are in states of…hence why its so popular.

I dont think Apollonian vs Dionysian really applies here as he’s more talking about solar/lunar/trirune brain but its the first time I heard about this philosophy so thanks St Michael at least for introducing a new topic for me.

Tim the Toolman says:

02:31pm | 23/10/12

Thank you for saving me the trouble, St. Michael.  That read far too much like an English Lit tutorial post.

sunny says:

03:12pm | 23/10/12

“Not tonight dear, I’ve got a neo-frontal cortex ache.”

Cat's Bottom says:

03:18pm | 23/10/12

True, but for me only if that dominance and agressiveness is articulated masterfully and utilising appropriate grammar.

TheRealDave says:

03:49pm | 23/10/12

Spelling also helps…

Damnit! Now I’m doing it!! I hate you all…..

Bitten says:

05:36pm | 23/10/12

Ah, the Secret History. Haven’t read that in so long I’m probably a reconstituted SH-virgin by now.

Cat's Bottom says:

03:44pm | 23/10/12

Knitting - it is so underrated

Big Ramifications says:

04:10pm | 23/10/12

Crikey!