Sex words...

On one of my mailing lists today, someone said:

In the current edition of the New York Review of Books there is an article which makes the following observation/claim: that in English the vulgar or socially unacceptable verbs for the sex act are transitive whereas the polite ones are intransitive.

Is that true? (Pondering.)

Booking Through Thursday: When despair comes...

From Booking Through Thursday:

Okay . . . picture this (really) worst-case scenario: It’s cold and raining, your boyfriend/girlfriend has just dumped you, you’ve just been fired, the pile of unpaid bills is sky-high, your beloved pet has recently died, and you think you’re coming down with a cold. All you want to do (other than hiding under the covers) is to curl up with a good book, something warm and comforting that will make you feel better.

What do you read?

I read The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett.

Easy answer. Best comfort read in the universe.

Another Torchwood article...

So they showed Torchwood in the US and the ratings were surprisingly good, as were most of the reviews. Who'd've guessed?

Not me.

Actually I'm a little annoyed that the CBC co-funded the show, then stalled on showing it, and the Americans have scooped us. Why? No taste or judgement, those CBC guys. Sometimes.

I'm not sure how it's doing now in Australia. My Australian friends were miffed that after starting it in a prime-time slot, it was quickly moved to a post-midnight schedule. Inexplicable! Unless it was network erotophobia. But why should Australians be afraid of sex?

I just read 'Torchwood's' hero comes out to play by Maureen Ryan from the Chicago Tribune. Good bits:This is just my two cents, but the blue-eyed, square-jawed, energetic Capt. Jack makes Tom Cruise look like a tired old hag... If you like brisk, escapist alien adventures mixed with a bit of wisecracking and some surprising forays into emotionally charged terrain, this is the show for you. And:

What doesn't get much attention in the first season — but is treated with matter-of-fact acceptance — is his bisexuality (well, his omnisexuality, considering that he's sometimes attracted to hot aliens). One future story line for the second season, Barrowman said, has Capt. Jack in a sexy scene with a character played by "Buffy's" James Marsters.

"I think Jack has come across so well with the [British] public is because he doesn’t judge on that," Barrowman said. "And he doesn’t let people judge him on that. Because he is a hero, a sexy hero with an ambition and a mission. The sexuality is completely secondary."

They think I should be a what?

I got this from txvoodoo:

1. Go to http://www.careercruising.com/.
2. Put in Username: nycareers, Password: landmark.
3. Take their "Career Matchmaker" questions.
4. Post the top ten results.

txvoodoo added this bit to it, so that's what I did: Bold items are jobs I currently do or have done in the past, italic items are jobs I've considered doing or wanted to do, and strikethrough items are things I've no interest in doing.

1. Anthropologist - #1 on my list? Astounding!
2. Website Designer - Yes, this I like doing.
3. Desktop Publisher
4. Animator - Doesn't this need talent?
5. Cartoonist / Comic Illustrator - I can't draw! Otherwise, I'd love it.
6. Actor - Again, talent is a requirement. Otherwise appealing. Except for the long hours, physical energy required, and the huge dependency on luck.
7. Computer Network Specialist
8. Criminologist
9. Multimedia Developer - I don't even know what that means.
10. Costume Designer
11. Activist
12. Computer Animator
13. Comedian - Aw, c'mon, that's got to be a joke!
14. Political Aide
15. Critic ...skipping a few...
18. Writer - At last!
And then down to 29. Historian - Took them long enough!

I am not impressed.