Sundance Channel

Naked News: Lovely Rita Meter Maid is a sex worker

Em and Lo — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 17:06:07 +0000

"Sex meter" helps Bonn tax prostitutes. Talk about lovely Rita.
Faster progress through puberty is linked to behavioral problems.

How to dork out at your wedding without losing your cool

Em and Lo — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 17:00:20 +0000

These days it seems like there are more "unique" weddings than there are traditional ones -- nobody wants to get married like their parents did anymore. And thanks to the Internets, those of us who are less creative can take inspiration from others and steal the best ideas -- or just laugh at them in a gently condescending manner. (Like the insta-viral wedding entrance dance routines that you can't decide whether to love or hate.) But here's a set of actually unique wedding photos that we just plain love - because they're funny and dorky yet also artsy and beautiful (and how awesome is it that the bride gets to carry the shovel and deal the fatal blow?). We can just imagine this couple totally dorking out together over their shared zombie obsession. And what's more romantic than that? Here are some of our favorites (you can see more here).

When public proposals go wrong

Em and Lo — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 17:00:01 +0000

Food Court Proposal Gone Wrong - Watch more Funny Videos

As we've said here many times, we're massive FAILblog fans. We think it's hilarious when people fall down (so long as they don't get seriously hurt), especially if it happens at a wedding or when they're trying to act sorta cool. When shit goes wrong and someone happens to capture it on video, the Internet gets a little happier. But there is a sub-genre of shit-going-wrong videos that makes us clench our buttholes, and not in a good way: When a dude gets down on one knee and proposes in public and his girlfriend says no (just Google "proposal gone wrong" if you're not familiar with the genre).

Wedding photos from New York’s first day of legal gay marriage

Em and Lo — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 17:00:05 +0000

Our photographer friend David Jacobs (he took our deceptively flattering bio pic) was hired by Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights organization, to document New York's first day of legal gay marriage this past Monday at Manhattan's City Hall. HRC will soon have more on their site, but for now here's a round-up of the day's events by their National Field Director, Marty Rouse. And below is our friend Dave's take on events (he's not gay, but he's married and does rock the occasional pink shirt with flare), followed by more of his cool photos of the happy couples.

Survey shows Philly residents do it the least and enjoy it the most

Em and Lo — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 17:00:09 +0000

We're often asked what's "normal" when it comes to sex frequency, and we always decline to answer -- we hate to use the word "normal" when it comes to sex, period. That's something that you've got to figure out on your own time, and we refuse to judge you (unless you like to do it while listening to Mariah Carey). But if you'd like to know what the average American is doing -- at least, according to Trojan, and we admit that it might be in their interest to exaggerate our sexual activity to get us keeping up with the Joneses -- then a new survey will enlighten you. It's the Trojan 2010 U.S. Sex Census.

The way we stray today

Em and Lo — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 17:00:33 +0000

Pamela Haag's new book "Marriage Confidential" has one of the best subtitles we've seen in a long time: "The Post-Romantic Age of Workhorse Wives, Royal Children, Undersexed Spouses, and Rebel Couples Who Are Rewriting the Rules." That's a lot to live up to, but the book delivers. And it's getting good buzz. Below is an excerpt from the section "New Twists on Old Infidelities, Or, The Way We Stray Today":

The divorce ring

Matthew Rodriguez — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 17:01:20 +0000

Kest Schwartzman of Vagabond Jewelry designed this not-too-subtle kinetic ring “Guillotine, or, The Divorce.” I can’t quite PUT A FINGER on why, but it’s morbidly hilarious to me. [Via]

A commemorative royal wedding “ring”

Em and Lo — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 17:00:00 +0000

You've probably heard of the royal wedding commemorative refrigerator, the one with the huge honkin' picture of William and Kate in an embrace emblazoned on the doors. Not exactly discreet. Well, now there's something a little more subtle, with more humor, if not more class: The Commemorative Royal Wedding Ring (as in love ring, i.e. cock ring):

Married same-sex couples refusing to lie on their tax returns

Em and Lo — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 17:00:49 +0000

RefuseToLie.org is an effort to take a stand against the federal government’s refusal to recognize gay marriages across the country. As it is now, the IRS calls for gay couples who are legally married in states that recognize the union to file as “single” — and some people aren’t going to step in line anymore. [...]

“Sex in America with Lisa Ling”

Em and Lo — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 17:00:04 +0000

At least, that's what Ling's new show on OWN (Oprah's new tv network) should be called, instead of "Our America with Lisa Ling." After all, four of the first five episodes focus on matters of sexuality: There's "Pray the Gay Away," which looks at the conflicts between Christianity and homosexuality; "Transgendered Lives," which profiles several different people who were born in the wrong body; "The State of Sex Offenders" which takes a look at criminals once they're out of jail; and tonight at 10pm "Online Brides," which we're guessing (from the promos) follows men to foreign lands who are in search of love (read: paid-for sex slaves). The first three (which we've seen) all take a very personal and intimate look at how these issues are affecting real people -- it's fascinating stuff, all shot very cinematically.

“Til death do us part” ring

Matthew Rodriguez — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 16:07:07 +0000

What do you get when you cross a brass knuckle with a wedding ring? Answer: Kate Bauman’s “Til Death Do Us Part by.”

2nd annual Unmarriage Until Gay Marriage ceremony

Em and Lo — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 18:00:55 +0000

For the second year in a row, the Reverend Billy and the Church of Life After Shopping will be celebrating this Valentine’s Day weekend with an un-marriage ceremony for straight married couples who support gay marriage at The Bethesda Fountain in NYC’s Central Park on Sunday from 1 – 2pm. The idea is “no marriage [...]

I can has gay wedding

Em and Lo — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 18:00:50 +0000

We usually hate anything that anthropomorphizes cuddly animals in some inanely cute way, like with tuxedos or having them work at a desk or some shit like that (you know, the kind of stuff your mom forwards to you and her entire address book, NOT bcc’d). But we can’t resist this particular case, since it [...]

Movie theater trailer marriage proposals

Em and Lo — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 18:00:33 +0000

The 21st century's answer to the skywriting marriage proposal is turning out to be the movie theater trailer proposal, with production values and costs ever increasing. In 2008, there was the simple surprise by the nerdy boyfriend, followed by the more complicated yet similarly unwatchable airplane disaster trailer that same year, and the open love letter with the ear-shattering Kenny-G soundtrack in 2009 (here's the in-theater reaction).

The best sex and love news of 2010

Em and Lo — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 18:00:49 +0000

Yesterday we told you about the sex and love news from 2010 that most pissed us off and/or depressed us -- dubious studies, dubious reporting, and rampant STDs, et al. Today we hope to put a smile back on your face with some of the love and sex news that most inspired us. You're welcome.

A kink study finds that the majority of men are open to fetishes once you get them behind closed doors. Just don't expect them to dish about it over Monday Night Football.
College gals finally close the marriage gap -- new research shows that white women with college degrees are just as likely to marry as those who didn’t graduate from college.
Okay, so yesterday we told you that the web is "luring" more women into porn addiction -- but there's a silver lining. We finally have proof that women are visual creatures too!

10 rules for surviving your in-laws this holiday season

Em and Lo — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 18:00:05 +0000

You may tie each other up every Monday and feel completely comfortable exploring each other's less traveled orifices, or you may consider doggie style to be "experimental" -- but when it comes to the holidays, we're all just a bunch of overgrown kids hoping to survive extended time with the in-laws (or potential future in-laws). We interviewed therapist Dr. Terri Orbuch, author of the book Five Simple Steps to Take Your Marriage from Good to Great, who says she has found, in her long-term study of married couples, that when a husband or wife fails to get along with the in-laws, it's predictive of marital unhappiness down the road. "On the flip side," she says, "in the happiest marriages from my study, both spouses reported that they felt close to, or at least got along with, their in-laws." We distilled Orbuch's advice into 10 rules for making sure your relationship survives the onslaught of questionable family members this holiday season.

Make your partner a priority -- and stand up for them. You can affect your parents' behaviors and how they treat your spouse by treating your spouse with respect, dignity, and validation. If your parents love you, they want what is best for you. And the best thing for you is a happy spouse who wants to spend time with your family.
Set a time limit. Short visits may be the happiest ones.
Manage expectations. Don't expect praise, warmth, and approval from your partner's family. Realistic expectations reduce frustration.

College gals finally close the marriage gap

Em and Lo — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 17:00:31 +0000

As recently as the ’90s, Em was horrified to hear her college roommate say that she was at school to get three letters: MRS. It was said kind of tongue-in-cheek… but not completely. The ironic thing was that back then, having a college degree actually meant that a woman was less likely to get married…and [...]

New wedding mag for same-sex couples

Em and Lo — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 20:00:23 +0000

“Equally Wed” is the new online magazine for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender couples who are tying the knot (legally or not). Launched this past March with their Spring Issue, they plan to publish one issue each season (their Summer Issue is up now). It’s got the typical bridal magazine stuff that just feeds the [...]

Sex degrees of separation

Em and Lo — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:00:22 +0000

We, Em & Lo, worked with and are friends with (and Lo was apt-mates with) Jessica Baumgardner, who married Irad Eyal, which is our connection to the new book "Sex Degrees of Separation." Irad has just turned his unhealthy obsession with celebrity hook-ups into an exhaustive encyclopedia that combines the idea of "six degrees of separation" and the game "six degrees of Kevin Bacon" with an emphasis on romantic ties and bodily fluids. Any "Us Weekly" subscriber (that would be Em) will be awed and amazed by the scope of this book, which includes extensively diagrammed connections between everyone from Paris Hilton to Diddy to, yes, Kevin Bacon. The graphic designers must be relaxing in a mental institution after this complicated project, which Irad compares to untangling a thousand iPod headphones that have been in your bag for a week.

The documentary “The Nature of Existence”

Em and Lo — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:00:50 +0000

There’s a new documentary out this summer from the director of TREKKIES called THE NATURE OF EXISTENCE (it opens tomorrow in NY at The Quad Cinemas), in which various philosophers, history scholars, religious leaders and fanatics from all over the world are asked tough questions about the purpose of human beings on Earth. The filmmaker [...]

10 thoughts on the separation of Al and Tipper Gore

Em and Lo — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 17:00:37 +0000

Really? The Gores? The couple most likely to make it to old age on a rocker-for-two on the front porch?!
Not the Clintons? We have to admit, it's a little refreshing to know that even such public marriages can have their secrets and mysteries.
We now feel truly bad about the number of times we made fun of the Gores' ew-Mom-and-Dad-are-kissing smooch at the 2000 Democratic Convention.

Books: You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up

Em and Lo — Thu, 20 May 2010 17:00:27 +0000

When we reviewed the book The Husbands and Wives Club: A Year in the Life of a Couples Therapy Group a few weeks back, we wrote: "Here are five couples who reject — albeit under the firm hand of a skilled therapist — the notion that there are only two acceptable narratives when it comes to talking about your own marriage: the long-walks-on-the-beach love story, or what [the author] calls the “resigned farce” — husbands and wives alike joking about their domestically useless/sexually burdensome/nagging spouse."

Geekiest marriage proposal ever

Em and Lo — Fri, 14 May 2010 17:00:28 +0000

Warning: only hardcore nerds — or those with a soft spot for hardcore nerds — will find this YouTube footage touching. It goes on for a while, you can’t quite see what’s going on, and there’s no climactic applause and shouts of congratulations at the end. But with a little background info, it becomes more [...]

Illinois state lawmaker makes a personal case for gay marriage

Em and Lo — Mon, 03 May 2010 20:00:52 +0000

Last week, Illinois lawmaker Deborah Mell spoke on the state House floor to announce her “bittersweet” engagement to her girlfriend of six years — “bittersweet” because she’ll have to go next door to Iowa to tie the knot instead of doing it in the state where she grew up, where she now represents 100,000 people [...]

How to use science to improve your marriage

Em and Lo — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 17:00:26 +0000

Since the 19th century, scientists have been proving that marriage is good for your health. But as recent research has shown, it's not as simple as tying the knot to ward off the Grim Reaper. It turns out that "it is the relationship, not the institution, that is key," as marriage historian Stephanie Coontz tells the New York Times. Good marriages are good for your health; bad marriages, not so much. And even within happy, loving marriages, the way that you handle conflict can impact your health. In other words, you may be head over heels in love, but if you fight dirty, then you're a cigarette habit to your partner's heart. (Literally: One recent study showed that a stressful marriage can be as bad for the heart as a regular smoking habit.) Some other interesting tidbits from the NYT magazine article that nicely summarized the recent research in this field:

"Despite years of research suggesting that single people have poorer health than those who marry, a major study released last year concluded that single people who have never married have better health than those who married and then divorced."
"Married people are less likely to get pneumonia, have surgery, develop cancer or have heart attacks. A group of Swedish researchers has found that being married or cohabiting at midlife is associated with a lower risk for dementia. A study of two dozen causes of death in the Netherlands found that in virtually every category, ranging from violent deaths like homicide and car accidents to certain forms of cancer, the unmarried were at far higher risk than the married."
"The results [of a recent test] showed that the women in unhappy relationships and the women who remained emotionally hung up on their ex-husbands had decidedly weaker immune responses than the women who were in happier relationships (or were happily out of them)."

Books: The Husbands and Wives Club

Em and Lo — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 17:00:52 +0000

Before we started reading The Husbands and Wives Club: A Year in the Life of a Couples Therapy Group by Laurie Abraham (based on this NYT mag cover story), we had a number of preconceived notions. (1) Okay, so other people's therapy might be interesting when Gabriel Byrne plays the therapist on HBO, but real-life couples and real-therapy therapy? It's a miserable thing to say about other people's marital troubles, but they can be so boring. (2) Group couples therapy? Isn't that a little '70s? (3) Wouldn't you want to throw yourself off a bridge after a year of being embedded in five couples' marital misery? Would you ever be able to have happy thoughts about the institution of marriage again?

Heartbroken fiancee fought the law and the law won

Em and Lo — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 20:00:37 +0000

Late last year we published an excerpt from our friend Robin's book (So Sue Me, Jackass! Avoiding Legal Pitfalls That Can Come Back to Bite You at Work, at Home, and at Play) about who gets to keep the ring after a broken engagement. The lawerly response? "While common courtesy dictates that the ring should remain with the dumpee, the law in most jurisdictions dictates that if a ring is given in contemplation of marriage, the woman doesn’t take title to the ring until the marriage takes place. That means if the marriage doesn’t take place, the ring goes back to the giver."

Everything you wanted to know about marriage but were afraid to ask

Em and Lo — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:00:34 +0000

Neither one of us ever read Elizabeth Gilbert's bestselling memoir Eat, Pray, Love (soon to be a movie starring Julia Roberts) -- we were both faintly annoyed by the idea of being along for the ride while some over-analytical divorcee worked through her problems on paper. But then Curtis Sittenfeld's review of Gilbert's Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peach with Marriage convinced us that Gilbert was a smarter, funnier, more insightful, and less annoying writer than we'd assumed. She was right: Committed -- a sequel of sorts to Eat, Pray, Love -- is a compelling take on marriage and its discontents. Sure, at times it feels like being along for the ride while some over-analytical affianced woman works through her issues on paper. In fact, it feels like this a lot of the time -- but it is only very occasional annoying. The memoir is likeable for multiple reasons, but here are five of our favorite relationship tips that we took away from it (whether or not Gilbert intended them that way):

Light writing proposal

Matthew Rodriguez — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:25:10 +0000

Light Writing Proposal from Derick Childress on Vimeo. Derick Childress wanted to propose to his girlfriend Emily in a unique manner, certainly a more unique one than via the jumbotron during a basketball game. He hit upon the idea of spelling out his question using light writing on an epic scale. He scouted variation locations [...]

Famous New York valentines

Matthew Rodriguez — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:44:41 +0000

The New York Times collected some valentines written by or to famous New Yorkers. They are quite touching and eloquent, especially the poem that E.B. White wrote to his wife, Katharine Sergeant White. A former New Yorker editor, “in a penciled notation, Katharine recognized it as a rondeau, a French lyrical poem with an unusual [...]

The rise of the sugar mama

Em and Lo — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:00:46 +0000

photo via IMDB A recent study by the Pew Research Center, comparing marriages in 2007 with those in 1970, found that husbands whose wives earn more than they do jumped from 4% to 22%. This is partly because, for the first time ever, in the under 44 age group, more women than men have college degrees. Make no mistake, women still earn 77c to the man's dollar, so things aren't exactly coming up roses. But still, plenty of women are bringing home the bacon while hubby contributes a few Bacos.

Hannah Seligson – A little bit married

Em and Lo — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:00:44 +0000

We recently spoke with Hannah Seligson about her new book "A Little Bit Married: How to Know When It's Time to Walk Down the Aisle or Out the Door": Why did you write this book? Personal experience? Of course! I’m my own guinea pig. After my first round of being A Little Bit Married, I became intrigued by this new dating pattern that I saw practically every 20-something friend of mine ebb in and out of. Here were these relationship that fifty or sixty years ago would have most likely culminated in marriage, but today often do not. So the book is an attempt to understand why that’s the case.

No sex? Deal-breaker. No turkey together? That’s okay, says NY court.

Em and Lo — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 12:00:25 +0000

photo by walknboston We hope that you’re sitting down to enjoy turkey (or tofurkey) with a loved one today. But if your loved one refuses to partake in the holiday celebration, we thought you should know that — acccording to a New York court, at least — that’s not as bad as refusing to partake [...]

Naked news, gay marriage edition

Em and Lo — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:38:44 +0000

Image is a summary of states' attitudes on gay rights issues from a paper recently published in the American Political Science Review

Maine residents will decide Tuesday whether to repeal a law allowing same-sex marriage, an effort that has succeeded in every state where it has been put before voters.
Defenders and haters alike have descended on the state, where it seems the fight is neck and neck.

Top 10 reasons why the First Marriage totally rocks our world

Em and Lo — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:00:22 +0000

photo by cliff1066

The cover story in this weekend's New York Times Magazine is about the First Marriage. It's both inspiring and a little chastening -- let's see you be President or First Lady and still rock hot monogamy like that. And also a little terrifying -- how would we ever recover from an Obama divorce? We'd lose faith in the very institution of marriage! So please, Mr. and Mrs. Obama, hang in there, for us. Here are top 10 reasons why we think they will:

Study: housework increases sex no matter who mops

Em and Lo — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:00:39 +0000

photo from Porn for Women It’s long been a given in the sex advice biz that dudes who break out the vacuum cleaner every once in a while are more likely to get laid. We typically fight such Men-are-from-Mars-Women-are-from-Venus stereotypes, but we’ve heard too much anecdotal evidence to ignore this one. It’s not that watching [...]

A love letter from Washington

Em and Lo — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:00:44 +0000

How novel is this? A politician sends out an email to his supporters and doesn't ask for money...he doesn't ask you to write letters about policy...or to volunteer your time to some campaign. He simply asks you to "remember a funny story about someone you love, smile, and be thankful." We heart Al Franken. Thank goodness he's one of the Minnesota senators now. This past Saturday, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the night he met Franni, his wife, he emailed all of his supporters basically an open love letter to her, acknowledging that he wouldn't be where he is today -- the United States Congress -- without her. Those with a block of ice for a heart might find this a little too precious, or perhaps even inappropriate for a man in public office, but we think it's comforting to know that at least one politician in Washington is actually a human being. Even better, a human being with a romantic streak. Here's the letter:

Writer defends adulterers, calls the rest of us “holier than thou”

Em and Lo — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:00:49 +0000

photo via venetia_joubert_sarah_oosterveld If you've listened to Howard Stern even once over the past decade (that'd be Em, not Lo), then you know that one of his most loyal advertisers is the Ashley Madison Agency -- the online dating site that caters to married people with the tagline "Life is short. Have an affair." Charming. On and off over the years, we've thought about reporting on Ashley Madison, but every time we did, steam would come out of our ears and we'd realize that our entire article would consist of seven words, most likely typed in all caps: "Stop cheating you slimeball pieces of shit." Just because the site sounds like it was named by Nora Roberts, as Jezebel so brilliantly notes, doesn't mean it's any less sleazy, immoral, unethical, or just plain wrong.

Mate poaching study: wedding ring = excellent pickup device

Em and Lo — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:00:52 +0000

photo by adactio We've always heard from our less-than-scrupulous guy friends that a wedding band lures single women in like flies to honey -- apparently it works better even than a cute puppy or a baby bjorn. Though, we suppose if we're going to be really fair, we should save the word "unscrupulous" for the competitive biotches who pursue a man not despite, but because of his wedding band. And let it be said for the record that we have heard not one story about the reverse happening: apparently a woman in a wedding band just isn't an aphrodisiac to men.

Loving Day

Matthew Rodriguez — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:25:39 +0000

On this day in 1967, the Supreme Court unanimously decided in Loving v. Virginia that Virginia's anti-miscegenation law was unconstitutional and violated both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Naked News (05-05-09)

Em and Lo — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:00:23 +0000

From the book I’m Glad I’m a Boy! I’m Glad I’m a Girl! The new documentary OUTRAGE, opening this Friday, exposes closeted gay politicians who publicly oppose gay rights. The theory being, why should they get to stay in the closet if they’re actively holding back the gay rights movement in their day job and [...]

Gay marriage: be afraid, be very afraid

Em and Lo — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:00:53 +0000

It’s this kind of thing — a new, totally rad T-shirt logo from Wordboner — that scares the bejeezus out of homophobes like the National Organization for Marriage. So frightened are they of an imaginary army of gay soldiers forcing them into a life of sodomy that they put together this gem of fear-tactic propaganda [...]

Gay marriage — all the cool kids are doing it

Em and Lo — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:00:42 +0000

photo by Maxintosh Love must really be in the spring air this week: not one, but two states have legalized gay marriage in less than 7 days! Last Friday it was Iowa, and just this past Tuesday it was Vermont. That brings the grand total of cool states dedicated to marriage equality up to four, [...]

Merriam-Webster accused of pro-gay agenda

Em and Lo — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 19:00:45 +0000

photo by greeblie While the rest of us were battling it out over gay marriage in courts, newspaper editorials, elections, marches, and barrooms across the country, a little company called Merriam-Webster was quietly making their own call. So quietly, in fact, that even though their dictionary updated the definition of marriage back in 2003 to [...]

Green Invigorates Your Lifestyle

Sundance Channel — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:00:00 +0000

Making your daily habits more sustainable can require a lot of effort. It is important to get help whenever and wherever you can, because most people are willing to make the effort if they can find the right guidance. Lets assume somebody is interested in having a green wedding. That person could use potted plants [...]