Women Wearing Red or Pink

Recent research suggests that wearing a red or pink dress or shirt can be provocative for women.  First of all, it may unwittingly signal to others that she is in her most fertile part of the menstrual cycle.  (Unlike in several other mammalian species, there is no obvious sign of this time of the month.)  However, Beall and Tracy (2013) found that women are three times more likely to wear red or pink clothing at that time of the month in which they might become pregnant.

Additionally, men are more likely to view her as receptive to amorous activity and possibly a pushover.

Finally, according to research by Pazda and his associates (2014), wearing red or pink garb might put other women on the defensive.  When they see their husband or boyfriend talking with someone wearing red or pink, they are more likely to derogate her later and engage in mate-guarding strategies.

Derogation can take many forms: finding fault with her looks, casting aspersions on her morals, or even ridiculing her intelligence.  Mate-guarding strategies can include hovering by, clinging, or even employing physical means (in some rougher settings).

Do women see the lady in red or pink as a potential mate poacher?  Evidence suggests that they do.

This effect might be multiplied if the red or pink wearer is blonde or is sexily dressed.  Would it be strategically advantageous to wear blue or black?  It depends on what ends one has in mind.

Cowgirl Melinda Tries to Become a Sidekick

Cowgirl Melinda found herself between jobs again; a condition in which a resourceful cowgirl could find a remedy.  In the past, she resorted to being a goose wrangler and helping in a Tame Eastern Show; but the local job prospects were kind of lame.

She did see a sign at a "Gentleman's Club" at an exit from I-80 advertising for cowgirl strippers!  Somehow, she wasn't open to the stage life, especially if it involved not wearing chaps and boots.  Or maybe it had something to do with refinishing the tables?  Oh well, not for her.

But in a coffee shop while she was having a cheap cup of joe, she saw a job advertisement for a sidekick in an indie movie set in Wyoming.  So she applied, and met with some odd-looking fellas from Portland, of all places!  They were real dudes who apparently got their garb from Cowboys R Us.

The Director fella commented to her that she looked like a real babe; and this would provide a new twist to the standard western buddy movie!  How about a female side kick, preferably one who dressed sexily?  They had a cowgirl outfit from Belle's Secret!....But, looks aside, they had some standards for a suitable sidekick; they had a checklist to assess Melinda's qualifications:

1.  Does she talk sparingly; but when she does, does she provide some homespun philosophy?  Check.

2.  Could she ride a horse or bull?  Check.

3.  Can she spit a fine stream?  Melinda worked at it, and got a passable one.

4.  Does she chew?  Well, Melinda was a bit weak on that; but she did so passably with bubble gum.  Check.

5.  Did she ever brand a cow?  Well, Melinda owned up to it, but told the tenderfeet that they always used a local.

6.  Can she sing and yodel?  Well, Melinda was a bit short in this department.  By now she thought that these movie guys were a tad behind the curve when it came to the concept of cowgirls.  It didn't help when they speculated on how she would look in a Dallas Cheerleader outfit!  Melinda was a Bronco fan, despite it being a Denver team.

The lead actor asked her if she would sleep two to a bed roll.  She properly replied that she was not that kind of cowgirl who would do so on the first date.  

Just then the actor kicked her in the thigh, and she fell down.  Melinda exclaimed, "S***!  What did you do that for, you cow [excrement] moron!  Melinda usually spoke politely, but this was real provocation!

The actor dude said, "That was the final test to see if you qualified as a sidekick."

Melinda then decided that an actress career was not for her!  These Portland dudes did not know which end of the horse was which; plus their movie was sounding pornish as it began to unfold.  Too bad, she would have been more authentic than the standard female part in a western movie.

The Widow

Frederick Dielman (1847-1935) was an artist who produced a variety of paintings and lithographs.  This one is definitely kitschy and adorable: it can be found in the Boston Public Library.  The cat looks either bewildered or uncomfortable.  She is giving a look that seems to say, "You're not going to show this embarrassing picture to anyone, are you?"

I would say that Pussycat deserved a substantial modeling fee, wouldn't you?

http://americangallery.wordpress.com/2013/01/10/frederick-dielman-1847-1935/



Puritan Names

Because there are definitely changes in popularity for certain names, this may result in criticism of certain name selections by older generations or, less often, certain names falling into disrepute.  For example, Adolf and Elmer acquired some negative karma due to Hitler and Fudd.  Probably the name Monica will pass into disuse; not just because of that California city or St. Augustine's scolding mama!

Hollywood types and rockers often come up with original names for their children: Apple, Suri, Dweezil, Moon Unit, and so forth.

And some children have their names from place names, like Brooklyn, Portland,  or Boston; but hopefully not Cleveland or Omaha.

But we have the Puritans fathers and mothers to cite as the continuing source of odd inclusions.  Some, like Prudence, Joy, Faith, Hope, and Chastity have made the cut for names still occasionally used.  Somehow, some of the other virtues like Temperance, Fortitude, Silence, Mercy, Abstinence, and Amity only occasionally are cited.

But it's when Puritans go overboard, naming craziness can occur.  Thus, there were actual people named:

Through Many Tribulations We Enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Probably called Tribby for short.)
Die-Well
Humiliation
If-Christ-hadst-not-died-for-thee-thou-hadst-been-damned.  Praise God's Son Barebone (He changed his name to Nicholas Barbon.)
Fear-God Barebone
Sorry-for-sin
Fly-debate
No-merit
More-triale
Job-raked-out-of-the-ashes
Fly-fornication
Fight-the-good-fight-of-faith
Cotton Mather
Increase Mather

Increase Mather

Some names are surprising as originating from the Puritans: Abigail, Chloe, Dorcas.

In general, whatever your name is, be glad your parents weren't Puritans!

The Practice of Dueling

The practice of dueling reached its peak in the 19th century; with the most famous duel being the one between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.  (Burr was the winner.)   Sam Houston, Stephen Decatur, John Randolph, Henry Clay, and Andrew Jackson were among noted duelists.  Abraham Lincoln was also almost in a duel, but it was called off at the last minute!

Duels were against the law in all states; however duelists usually went to places beyond the jurisdiction of authorities who might be likely to intervene.

Duels in the antebellum South were often because of an offended sense of honor.  However, other reasons were given.  One gentleman took offense because another person made snide comments about the Mississippi River's size.  He was brought up short with a sword cut.

One another occasion, State Senator Bernard de Marigny challenged another Louisiana legislator to a duel.  Marigny was an expert swordsman and pistol shot; but the other legislator found a way to improve his odds.  As the challenged party, he was given the right to choose weapons and location.

His choice: clubs and in six feet of water in Lake Pontchartrain.

Since Marigny was only five and a half feet tall and his opponent was over six feet tall, Marigny decided that he could not kill someone with such a sense of humor!

For some occupations, such as newspaper editor, having dueling skills was a useful occupational skill on occasion.  For that reason, there were actual dueling studios were one could receive instruction on how to duel effectively.  The favorite spot for New Orleans duels was under the Dueling Oaks at the south end of City Park, near where the present art museum is located.  Duels were most often done on Sunday.  On occasion, there were combatants who had to wait their turn while a duel already in progress was going on.  It was considered bad form, and possibly dangerous, to try to hurry a duel already in progress, especially since the parties and their seconds were armed!

Some graves in the old cemeteries of New Orleans bear the inscription "mort sur le champs de honneur."  While this is an inscription occasionally used for soldiers who died in battle, it became also a common usage for dueling deaths.

Fortunately, the practice of dueling pretty well ended around the time of the Civil War.  Apparently, the large-scale carnage in that conflict made the practice of dueling seem petty by comparison.  Or maybe accepted moral standards became more socially internalized.

Women were considerably less often likely to engage in dueling; but there were a few exceptions.There were even occasions when women resorted to topless_dueling at that!  (There was a rationale for doing that!)

Puritanism in the Restriction of Coffee

Despite an occasional state legalizing marijuana, or making gay marriages okay, there's still a strong puritanical streak in American life.  In one way, we see this in the establishment of that gray area in ages: the no-woman's land between 18 and 21 years old.  It is totally curious and irrational to me.  When I was 18, I could totally get married, with or without parental consent.  On the other hand, my possible groom and I could not toast our nuptials with champagne after the ceremony or after later events........  Similarly, I could so go down to the Army recruiter and enlist; but not go into a cocktail lounge to have a Cosmo to celebrate my little contribution to our national defense.  

But one thing that I could have, even if I was just 8 or 9, was a nice, hot cup of coffee.  With chicory, and beignets (I'm a hedonist).  However, some health purists sometime in 2020 or so decided that coffee drinking stunted the growth of teens, so our great wise men in Congress restricted sale of coffee to people who were 25 or older.  They threw in the extra four years to prove that they were in full support of virtue, health-wise, and to show what badasses they really were.  Never mind the benefits of drinking coffee:  

As if we needed convincing!  They justified this by arguing that coffee was addictive, it was a psychoactive stimulant, and that it was frequently associated with socially unacceptable behaviors.  The innocuous bikini baristas of the Seattle area were lumped together with the notorious betel girls of Taiwan.  Also, the Puritan meanies raised the spectre of coffeehouses frequented by beatniks, even though the last one was seen about 50 years ago in Indianapolis!  Well, who says you're supposed to play fair or be logical when you're fear-mongering?  

This surprising coffee puritanism had an immediate impact.  Since coffee sales were down, youthful workers were often seen nodding off on the job, "energy" drinks peaked in sales, and there was murmurs of discontent as the dark roast stream dried up to a trickle.  The economy of Seattle tanked.  In New Orleans, they tried beignets and hot tea for minors; but it went over like a lead balloon.  Fast food places had to make up the revenue differences by dropping the senior discount coffee.  It even inhibited some courtship processes: 

Well, American teens and young milennials were not about to take this lying down, no Ma'am!  As a matter of fact, they resurrected some methods used by their great-grandparents in fighting oppressive busybodies.  Coffee speakeasies sprung up in both cities known as hotbeds  of caffeinated vice and small towns alike to cater to the youthful coffee drinkers.  The bootlegging trade in dry counties expanded to include underage coffee.  Rumor had it that Hot Coffee, Mississippi was the distribution headquarters of this latter-day vice; therefore, latter-day coffee narcs tried going undercover there.  However, they gave themselves away by wearing Oshkosh bib overalls, by gosh!

The expression, "Make a run for the border," no longer applied to satisfying taco munchies in Northern states; but instead implied a fast trip to Tim Horton's!  And all snickered at the new meaning of the expression, "Just say no!"  Some slogans are meant for the distbin of history.

Missy Chauvin Experiences a Surprise Side Effect

Missy Chauvin, our Action News reporter, was having a conversation with her amie Madeline, otherwise known as The Prophetess, regarding some minor health problems calling for a traiteur, a Cajun folk healer.  Just in passing, Missy commented that Dr. Williams, her OB-GYN, put her on Anafranil (clomipramine) to help her deal with her nerves.

Missy said, "This is embarrassing, Maddy.  But I think that a side effect of the new drug he gave me causes me to experience the Big O whenever I yawn!  Last night I yawned while Henry was doing the weather before the sports update and I'm afraid I was a bit loud and obvious.  However, the director complimented me on my ad-libbing to perk up interest.  When we don't have a hurricane threat, the weather report is just plain bo-ring!"

"Oh, my goodness, Missy," Madeline said  "That must be distressing.  Are you doing anything about it?"

"Well, I drink espresso before we go on camera.  I also attend City Council meetings and listen to Father Devereaux's sermons; but watching World Cup soccer seems to work best of all."

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Over 30 years ago McLean and co-researchers reported an unusual side effect associated with clomipramine (Anafranil): about five percent of persons who use this drug, they report experiencing orgasms when they yawn!

Now clomipramine is an antidepressant and anti-OCD medication that has more general effects than the specific seroronin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs): it also affects norepinephrine, dopamine, and other neurotransmitter sites.  In a way, we can describe its effects as somewhat less specific.

Now a common undesirable side effect of antidepressants is decreased libido on the part of the user, including the commonly-used SSRIs.  However, SSRIs are preferred because they have fewer side effects.

However, for about five percent of clomipramine users, whenever they yawn, they experience an orgasm.  Some like this side effect!

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McLean, J. D., Forsythe, R. G., and Kapkin, I. A.  Unusual side effects of clomipramine associated with yawning.   The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry / La Revue canadienne de psychiatrie, Vol 28(7), Nov 1983, 569-570.