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Monday, April 30, 2012

This Blue Monday is Beltane Monday

Blessed be! The Wheel of the Year turns to Beltane (sometimes spelled Beltaine), or May Day. In the Northern Hemisphere, this cross-quarter Pagan celebration falls halfway between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice.

Beltane celebrates the consummation of the union of God and Goddess, and fertility in general. The family-friendly explanation of Beltane is that it celebrates the fertility of the growing crops. Its primary symbols are the maypole and fire. One way to celebrate it is to bring greenery indoors from the woods or the nearest garden.



These are some of my best Beltane-related pins. First up, the illustration from my SexIs Magazine article "Sexual Tourism: An International Tour of Spring Fertility Festivals." It's from the Beltane Fire Festival, Calton Hill, Edinburgh, Scotland.



The god often associated with Beltane is Cernunnos, also called the Horned God. Horns are an ancient symbol of male fertility by association with horned livestock such as rams, goats and bulls.



Another of his incarnations is the Green Man, or Jack-o'-the-Green. The Green Man was a favorite motif of medieval church-builders. He's associated with a variety of folkloric figures, from fauns and satyrs to Robin Hood and Shakespeare's Puck to the Green Knight of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.



An especially lovely modern interpretation of Cernunnos is this one.



Did I mention I wrote an erotic romance novel with a contemporary Beltane festival as the setting? You can read the original short story that started it all at The Erotic Woman.



Have a blessed Beltane!

Beltane 2010 post: An interview with Peter Joseph Swanson
Beltane 2011 post: Guest post by Ruby Sara

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The Wheel of The Year. . by Maureen Murrish. $5.99 from Smashwords.com
The Wheel of the Year is a beginner's guide to celebrating the eight traditional pagan festivals of the the year.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

SOC Sunday: Of Domestic Violence and Islam-Bashing

Ruh-roh, Raggy - I feel a rant coming on. On Sundays I typically link up with Stream of Consciousness Sunday at All Things Fadra, but rather than waiting for the prompt this time, I'm going to brain-dump on what's been on my mind this weekend.
Friday night I fell asleep in front of the TV watching the local news. When I woke up, Mel Gibson was talking to Jay Leno on The Tonight Show. Who let Mel Gibson on the Tonight Show? Who lets Mel Gibson around decent people?

Recap: Mel Gibson was working with screenwriter Joe Eszterhas, who apparently has not yet produced the screenplay Gibson was hoping for. Gibson called Eszerthas to rant about it in a profane tirade; the conversation was recorded by Eszerthas' son. Joe Eszterhas released the tape.

Ranting at a screenwriter? Not so bad. No worse than the Christian Bale meltdown, perhaps. Reminiscent, however, of earlier, and uglier, incidents, including 2010 recordings of Gibson verbally abusing Oksana Grigorieva, the mother of his youngest child, the beautifully-named Lucia.

In 2011, he was convicted of domestic violence against Grigorieva and sentenced to 36 months of probation.

If I were a producer of The Tonight Show, I would have a strict policy that no one with a domestic violence conviction would be a guest, period. I would want to message sent that we don't explicitly or implicitly condone relationship violence. The men who don't have the sense to walk away from stressful situations, but instead choose to use violence against the people they supposedly love, don't deserve public adulation. They deserve to be personally and professionally shunned. It's a decision that we as a society can make to show that we don't tolerate unacceptable relationship behavior. It's a decision we can make to show that we value the lives and rights of women and children.

I use a legal conviction and/or a guilty or no-contest plea as the standard for who belongs on my permanent shit list. Charlie Sheen, Chris Brown, and Eric Roberts are some of the men I include with Gibson. Do you have a different standard? Let me know.

The son of Joe Eszterhas violated your privacy? Boo hoo. It's perfectly within your rights to sue him, but don't expect me to feel sympathy.

Yes, I am still upset about Gibson's past antiSemitic remarks. Recently I've read more and more anti-Muslim posts in social media. Let me be clear: prejudice against a group of people because of their Middle Eastern ethnicity or cultural identity is antiSemitism, whether those people are Jews, Arabs or non-Arab Muslims. We (I do have the one Eastern European Jewish grandmother) have a common cultural ancestry, which our folklore traces to Abraham. Abraham settled what is now Israel/Palestine after leaving Mesopotamia. Ancient Mesopotamia, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, is modern Iraq.

I was galled yesterday (before I fell asleep and woke up to Gibson) to read an article titled "The Immorality of Sexuality" by an author who goes by "The 5 Elements Quest." According to this blog, the author's name is Abdoulaye N'Gom. He states, "Any diversity of sexuality beside one male and one female is immoral, period." In the same paragraph, he writes, "Take Islam for example, where men are permitted to have multiple wives. When you trace the roots of this religious polygamy, with a spiritual understanding you will see that evil was the cause."

Sure, blame Islam for polygamy! Never mind that it was a common Middle Eastern practice that included the ancient Hebrews. Never mind that Biblical patriarchs like Jacob had multiple wives. Solomon was said to have 700 wives and 300 concubines! Clearly, the ancient Hebrews were comfortable with non-monogamy - at least male heterosexual non-monogamy.

I'm no big fan of polygamy for the non-religious reason N'Gom mentions - that it can be a way for women to be exploited and treated as property. But I don't condemn people for non-monogamy; as adults, we all make our choices.

I do have a problem with Islam-bashing. It's antiSemitism, plain and simple. Don't be afraid of us because are roots are non-European. So we're Asiatics - most of the world's people are Asians. Embrace it.

It's like this: hold all the world's cultures, religious and otherwise, to the same standards. That, and recognize that all the world's cultures are interconnected, both by our cultural artifacts and by our DNA. People are like the ocean. We call the oceans Atlantic, Pacific, et al., but they all touch each other - there's really only one big ocean. There's really only one ethnic group - human.

And for the love of all that is good and holy, when you're angry with your domestic partner, walk away from him or her. Being drunk or on drugs is no excuse. You're an adult - you know how to NOT assault people.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Sextoys - The Best Way to Present Them to Your Husband or Wife (Guest Post by John Hansen))

Introducing adult toys for your lover can be both awkward and difficult. You may not know how they might react, and you also don't know if they are going to be open to it. Exactly like anything else, when there is no change, things could easily get very boring. So it is perfectly normal for you should you wish to introduce sex toys to your significant other to spice up your romantic endeavors. It is proven that adult toys could really help to spice up to make it more interesting for couples while having sex.

Sure, even though adult toys can open up totally new doors of enjoyment for your partner and you, however, you first must introduce these to your lover, and let him or her know that you would like to use them during your intimate moments with your lover in your bedroom. Getting them to agree to and be open to it is one thing, you should also consider the actual sex toys you intend to introduce to your sex-life. You should choose sextoys that is able to give satisfaction to both parties, but at the same time, do not crush one another's self confidence.
If you wish to start using adult sex toys with your lover, you have to be completely open with them, and begin an honest conversation. A good time is when the both of you are relaxed and comfortable. The best way to start is to ask your lover an open ended question, like how they feel about adult toys. Share how you feel with your companion. Most partners will feel uncomfortable and it could possibly hurt their self esteem, thinking that they may not be good enough to pleasure you. Having said that, you have got to reassure them that it's just to spice your sex up. It's essential to assure your partner that sextoys might help pleasure the both of you, and you should also make sure they know that you aren't questioning their ability to pleasure you. This might be very crushing to one's self esteem, but if you approach this issue the appropriate way, it should be fine. 

After your lover is open to try out adult toys with you, the both of you should decide the sort of sextoys which should be introduced in your bedroom. Search for sextoys together, and choose upon understanding from the both of you. Sex toys could really be fun when added into your sexual routines together with your partner. It could even be the fire starter to light up the burning passion and desire once again. 




More relationship posts:




Friday, April 27, 2012

Sapphic Planet ~ Adriana Kraft guest post


Welcome to the Sapphic Planet Blog Tour, April 23 – May 4! We’re giving away a free download of Sapphic Planet to one lucky commenter – be sure to check out all the posts on our tour: http://www.writermarketing.co.uk/prpromotion/blog-tours/currently-on-tour/sapphic-planet/.  The more blogs you comment on, the more chances to win!

Today, welcome author Adriana Kraft, with her short story, Accidental Contact.

Accidental Contact

The curves of a woman. Soft, round, comforting, tantalizing, tempting, enthralling. There’s nothing quite like erotic scenes with two women together, and it turns out that both halves of Adriana love to read them and write them. We’re a married couple writing together: erotic romance for two, three or more.

Our Sapphic Planet story is definitely a twosome, and one of our favorite sub genres – a Cougar story. Baby Boomers ourselves, we love to write stories featuring older heroines, in line with another of our mantras: hot sex at any legal age.

Story Blurb:

Natalie and the much younger Bridgette are real estate agents who’ve often traveled together for business seminars. Now they’re snowbound in New York City in a hotel room with only one bed. Will Natalie dare to make her move?

Accidental Contact Excerpt

Groggily, Natalie peeked at the red numerals on the hotel clock. Midnight—they'd only been in bed for an hour.

Her eyes blinked wide open. There was a hand on her breast. She wiggled her fingers. The hand definitely wasn’t hers. She held her breath, taking stock of her situation.

Steady breathing warmed her neck. She was in danger of becoming intoxicated with Bridgette's scent. She squirmed her bottom only to discover something solid—Bridgette's torso, curved around hers. Fortunately, they were about the same height.

She couldn't discern if Bridgette was awake or maybe acting out a dream. Natalie rechecked the clock. It had taken her nearly five minutes to assess her situation, and she still wasn't sure what was happening. Her breathing faltered. She did know her nipples were growing incredibly aroused.

Shutting her eyelids, she withdrew into her body to concentrate on one particular nipple. The one Bridgette's thumb lay within an inch of.

Author Bio

Adriana Kraft is the pen name for a married couple writing erotic romance together. Published at Extasy Books, Whiskey Creek Press Torrid, Love You Divine, Logical Lust and Torquere, our novels and short stories garner top reviews and are available in e-book and print. Genres include straight m/f, lesbian, bisexual, ménage and polyamory, with both contemporary and paranormal settings.

Adriana Kraft on the Web


Sapphic Planet Blurb

Welcome to the Sapphic Planet, a literary realm where women are free to love one another without fear of prejudice or reprisal. Inside these pages you'll discover nineteen stories written specifically to tease and titillate your senses. 

From a frolic in the rain with a Bathing Beauty, to a concerned sibling showing his sister some Brotherly Love, and everything in between – whether you're in the mood for steamy romance or unrequited lust, we've got a story guaranteed to satisfy your cravings.

This anthology showcases just a fraction of the talent from the writers of Sapphic Planet, a group specifically created for authors and aspiring authors of quality lesbian literature. Now sit back, relax and enter our world. Afterwards, while waiting to catch your breath, take a moment to visit us online at www.sapphicplanet.com 

Contributing Authors
Beth Wylde, Jean Roberta, Kissa Starling, Jodi Payne, Meg Leigh,
Jennifer Cross, Dylynn DeSaint, JT Langdon, Allison Wonderland,
Nan Andrews, Fiona Zedde, Ann Cory, Adriana Kraft, Dalia Craig,
Stephanie Rose, Tenille Brown, Kira Chase, Moondancer Drake, Roxy Katt

BUY LINKS  ~ Sapphic Planet is available in Print and Ebook ~

Amazon  
Rainbow Ebooks 
1 Place forRomance 
1 eroticaebooks  

Leave a comment to enter for a free download of Sapphic Planet!



Thursday, April 26, 2012

Italian cuisine a la Piero Rivolta



When Piero Rivolta, entrepreneur and novelist—his latest novel is Journey Beyond 2012 (New Chapter Publisher, due out May 1st) — relocated to the United States from Milan, Italy, he sailed his boat, filled with cases of good Italian wine, across the Atlantic Ocean. By the time he arrived in Miami, he had only two cases left.

Along the way, he also learned to cook for himself out of necessity. In Italy his family had a cook, and his wife Rachele would make special dishes with his help.

When Rachele went back to Italy from time to time, Piero started to cook for himself again. “I decided, if I wanted to eat what I like – simple and tasty, and with fresh ingredients – I’d have to do it myself,” he says.

He didn’t read cookbooks, just experimented with what was in the cupboards. When he invited friends over to share his meals, they were impressed and encouraged him to continue his “experiments.” So did his wife when she returned from Italy and tasted his dishes. Since then he has been cooking in the evenings to relax and enjoy himself.

Here are two of his favorite recipes:

Risotto with Radicchio


In a large pot

·         chop an onion
·         sauté in light olive oil
·         add salt
·         add chopped radicchio leaves
·         put in the rice – use Arborio (or a similar risotto rice)and stir for 30 seconds
·         add white wine to cover the rice (about half an inch)
·         keep stirring until the wine gets absorbed, but keep the rice moist
·         add broth (if you don’t have it ready, use beef or chicken bouillon with water) and keep stirring
·         after 20 minutes or so, test the rice – it should be “al dente,” not cooked to the point of becoming mushy)
·         switch off heat, put a lid on the pan, and let sit for 2 minutes
·         add a big dab of butter and a good portion of grated parmesan cheese (if you want it softer, add a tablespoon of yogurt or sour cream) and stir together

Serve with parmigiano reggiano sprinkled on top.

Although risotto goes very well with dry white wine, this radicchio recipe can be served a red wine, especially in cold weather. Try a Nebiolo or if you want a stronger taste, a Barolo.

Megan Mallan, Creative Commons license

Shrimp à la Piero
 It’s best to use unshelled shrimp – ideally prawns – but they’re easier to eat if they are first shelled; in which case, put the shells in a small pan, add a bit of water and cook them while you do the rest. Keep the broth to add to the sauce.

·         take a big skillet
·         put in a lot of chopped garlic
·         use extra virgin olive oil
·         heat with strong flame until the garlic becomes lightly brown
·         add chopped chili peppers and chopped Roma tomatoes
·         cook for about 5 minutes and mash the tomatoes in the pan
·         add shrimp
·         add some broth from the cooked shells
·         cook for another 5 minutes
·         add a glass of bourbon (Jack Daniels) – you can flambé it if you want
·         add some cherry tomatoes cut in half
·         cook for another minute or so to blend the flavors

serve with a good Italian white wine.

Glen McLarty, Creative Commons license

Look for Erin O'Riordan's review of Journey Beyond 2012, coming soon!



Wednesday, April 25, 2012

WIP Wednesday, in which Erin further explores fanfic

Authors needed - all genres! Are you an author who'd like to share a 100- to 200-word blurb about a current work in progress on a future WIP Wednesday? If so, please send an e-mail to Erin O'Riordan (erinoriordan AT sbcglobal DOT net).

This is the second half of a piece of fan fiction I wrote in between editing "Sheep Shifter" and my next project. I thought about it, and I realized "Sheep Shifter," which features a fully-grown Alice of Wonderland fame is also, in a way, fan fiction. I didn't invent those characters, either. It's similar to the stories collected in Fantastic Alice:New Stories of Wonderland, edited by Margaret Weis.

Snicker on, but E.L. James' 50 Shades of Grey trilogy, currently at the top of the bestseller list, also started out as fanfic. Twilight fanfic.

This is raw, unedited, the first and only draft. WIP Wednesday seems like as a good a place to post this as any. Last week's fic (catch up HERE) was a bit of a tease, the lead-up to the should-be relationship that's consummated in this part.

____

As he sat on the edge of the bed, she came around to his side. “You’re a beautiful woman, Joss.” She watched the way he bit his lower lip and almost leaned in to kiss him, but thought better of it. In her moment’s hesitation, he reached up for her and pulled her into his lap. It felt oddly familiar, as if she belonged here, and turned her on more than she’d dared to fantasize about.

He lay back, pulling her down with him, gently maneuvering her so her breasts were in his face. He sucked one while his fingers played lightly with the other. She drove her hips into him, crazy with wanting. “John – condom.”

“Not yet,” he said into her chest. She sighed in frustration. Before she knew what was happening, he had her flat on her back. She expected to feel his weight on top of her, but instead he spread her legs and knelt between them. She decided not to be offended at the way he liked to take control.

It was impossible to be offended at the way he slowly kissed and sucked his way up the inside of her thigh. His hot breath felt good, and the way one hand lightly brushed the inside of her other thigh gave her shivers. She caught herself moaning as if the pleasure were some terrible pain.

“Don’t stop,” she begged, sounding more desperate than she’d intended. He sounded pleased with himself as she reached down to run her fingers through his hair – and subtly nudge him closer to her very needy clit.

He seemed to get the message, slipping two fingers inside her as he circled her clit with his tongue. She spread her legs wider, welcoming him in further. Those fingers felt so good…and it had been so long since anyone had touched her like this…

The pressure steadily increased, and Carter’s hips swung wildly. Struggling not to scream, she came hard. John’s mouth never left her, but when Carter caught her breath and looked up, their eyes met. She sat up, threw her arms around him and took his mouth with hers. No feelings, she told herself. She only wanted the sensation.

Pressed against him, exploring her taste with her tongue inside his mouth, with his rock-hard erection against her belly, Carter felt as though she would burn if she didn’t have him inside her. She broke away. “Condom. Now.”

He nodded and located the wrapper near her foot. He ripped the package open, and she helped him roll it on. He wrapped his arms around her and started to lay her back down, but she stopped him with a hand on his chest. “There’s something you need to know - I don’t like to be held down.”

“I won’t.” He lay on his side, head on the pillow, and she lay beside him, looking into his eyes. He pulled her tight against him, holding her hips. The heat between their bodies was incredible; she felt the sweat pool between her breasts. “Joss, I need to-“

“Oh, god, John, do it.” She closed her eyes and put her leg over his to let him in. They both sighed – this felt natural, but also thrilling. He held her hips tightly, but mostly lay still while she moved against him. She wanted this. After all her nights of dreaming of this moment, she finally had him inside her, filling her, and it felt much better than she’d imagined. His obvious sounds of pleasure only turned her on more, and within minutes she came again. Harder. Longer. She bit her lip to keep from screaming, but was still surprised at the desperate sounds she made.

Laughing softly, he brought his mouth close to her ear. “If I promise not to hold you down, will you let me take over?”

She’d barely managed to get out a “yes” before he pulled away from her, only to pick her up, stand up and set her ass on the headboard. The bed squeaked in protest as she wrapped her legs around him. Both the headboard and her back slammed against the wall, but Carter didn’t mind. She knew what John was capable of when something drew his anger, but tonight his aggression only served her pleasure.

Her pleasure heightened when she opened her eyes, peeked around his shoulder and saw their reflection in the mirror behind the TV. All this time, those dark suits had been hiding that beautiful ass. She watched him grinding into her, legs wrapped around him, feeling each stroke as she watched its reflection.

If only the room had a mirror on the ceiling. She would have loved to watch him kneeling between her thighs, her fingers twisting in his hair while he ate her. Just the thought pushed Carter to the edge again, but as she listened to John’s hard breathing, she wondered if she could make him lose it with her. What would be sweeter than watching Mr. Control Freak lose his mind?

She dug her nails deeper into his back. If only he wasn’t so…oh god…too late. He rode her hard while she came again. She bit her lip so hard, she tasted blood, but still couldn’t keep herself completely quiet.

Her muted screams only seemed to have one effect on John, though. He brought his lips closer to her ear and whispered, “Again, Joss? You really needed it bad, huh?”

“Don’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Your turn next.”

Her words did something to him; he groaned loudly and slammed his hand into the wall. A moment later, he pulled them back down to the mattress – leaving her on top, as he promised. She kept her eyes locked onto his as she sat up straight and tried her best to give as good as she got.

She knew his was close from the way he panted and clutched her hips. They were both covered in sweat by now, and his hair was wild. She wanted to savor this accomplishment, but even more, she wanted to watch him come inside her.

He turned his head, but Carter said sternly, “John, look at me.” He turned to her, his eyes wide. She felt his muscles tense underneath her, but wasn’t expecting the raw scream she tore from his throat. She never stopped swinging her hips, never broke eye contact, but broke out in a satisfied, joyful laugh. John’s holler tapered off into a deep laugh, and if Carter wasn’t mistaken, he sounded pretty satisfied, too.

Separating felt unnatural, but she had to let him take the condom off. Carter got under the covers. She wanted to get home to her son, but she had to rest first. As she turned toward the pillow, exhausted, he moved her hair aside and kissed the back of her neck. “No complications,” she reminded him. She must have fallen asleep quickly. When she woke up, he was simply gone.
___

In case you're wondering what, I imagine, happens next, I refer you to the post titled "...in which the term 13-inch is thrown about shamelessly." I actually wrote a little bit more after that, which I will share...eventually, I'm sure. As I'm sure you realize, this could not possibly end happily-ever-after. How could a woman ever have a real relationship with an emotionally damaged, essentially soulless CIA killing machine? This is all sex and angst, not romance.

BTW, my Homicide/Scooby Doo crossover doesn't sound so - um, whimsical - when you consider THIS, in which Harold Finch is a young wizard at Hogwarts, being sorted by the sorting hat. Spoiler alert! - Ravenclaw. (I'm a Ravenclaw, too.) I wonder if the hat puts Reese in Slytherin? Dude capped so many people, he could make, like, 1,000 horcruxes and never die. But you know the expression:





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Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Top 3 Delicious DIY Foods for Halloween

Today, April 24th, is St. Mark's Eve. St. Mark's Eve is one of three traditional "Spirit Nights," along with All Hallows Eve (Halloween) and St. John's Eve (Midsummer Eve). The spirit nights are all associated with divination - the veil between the seen and unseen worlds is at its thinnest. In that spirit, I present this early Halloween guest post.

Now, without further adieu, your guest blog post by Katherine Cao:

Each time when Halloween approaches, kids will be too impatient to wait. They will put on colorful costumes and fantastic masks. They carry Jack O' Lantern and ask gifts from adults. Here, some unique DIY foods for this festival are collected. Designers are concentrated on their appearance and also taste. To delight your kids, why not try a DIY food? It will undoubtedly enhance the atmosphere of the festival :D!



Top 1: Grimace Biscuit

Required materials: one egg, granulated sugar (40g) and some starch.

Step 1: break the egg into a certain container.

Step 2: add a few starches. Then, pour granulated sugar into the container three times. Blend them.

Step 3: a pastry tube is needed here. Squeeze out above mixed item onto the baking paper via the pastry tube. Since the food is designed for Halloween, you need to squeeze the mixed item to be round and ghost-shaped. How large should the biscuit be? Of course, this depends on you.

Step 4: preheat the oven to be 100 degree and bake the biscuit for 70 to 80 minutes. Actually speaking, you won’t bake the biscuit, but dry them by hot wind.

Step 5: after baking, draw ghost or any other evil on each biscuit by chocolate. Certainly, you can also draw various patterns lover by your kids. Moms, just explore your mind.

PS: biscuit after being drawn with ghost should be stocked in a refrigerator because it easily absorbs moisture. Aside from this, it may become soft and sticky when the temperature rises. At last, kids are not recommended to eat too many these biscuits because they have too much sugar.



Top 2: Pumpkin Porridge

Required materials: shrimp meat, green pea, two eggs, two pumpkins, salt, starch, soup stock, pepper powder and sesame oil.

Step 1: wash the shrimp meat and wipe it. Add two spoons of egg white, salt and starch. Pickle it for about 10 minutes.

Step 2: cut off the top of the pumpkin and use the cut part as the cover later. Draw out all seeds and cover it via a plastic wrap. Put them into the microwave over and heat them for 4 minutes.

Step 3: three bowls of soup stock will be needed. Boil them and put in green pea. After boiling, put in shrimp meat and boil them.

Step 4: break the egg into the soul and add starch. Then, salt, pepper powder, chicken powder and sesame oil need to be put in too.

Step 5: scoop out the boiled item and load them into the pumpkin.

PS: while heating the pumpkin, be careful about the temperature in the microwave oven. If you are not sure about this, heat it gradually please.





Top 3: Witch Finger Biscuit

Required materials: unsalted butter (220g), berry sugar, one egg, almond extract, vanilla extract, flour, baking powder, salt and almond (it’s used to make the nail. There should be one almond for each finger. It’s okay to use skinless almond or almond tablets.

Step 1: the unsalted butter should be softened under room temperature. After softening, add sugar, egg, almond extract and vanilla extract. Use a stand mixer to blend them.

Step 2: mix flour, salt and baking powder. Then, pour them into the butter. Since the machine is in service, you can adjust the speed to be low. Sure, you can do this by hands too. Just mix the flour with butter. But you will need to knead the dough arduously.

Step 3: take out the mixed item from the container and load them into taker-bag. A paste forms then. Put it into the refrigerator for over 30 minutes. In this case, the paste will become hard and form.

Step 4: take out the paste from the refrigerator. Get the almond ready and find a small spoon.

Step 5: scoop a small spoon of paste and twist it to be a long strip, which should be as long as a finger. You are suggested to make the strip slimmer than a finger since it will become larger while being baked.

Step 6: get an almond and embed it into the finger. So, the nail is finished.

Step 7: pinch the nail slightly. It’s better to use a knife or spoon to make some “ruffles” on the nail.

Step 8: when all nails are completed, put them into the ovenware with baking paper.

Step 9: preheat the microwave oven to be 165 degree. And bake the biscuit in it for about 20 to 25 minutes.

To scare your friends by a biscuit with a ghost face on it and then invite them to enjoy your DIY food is absolutely a good idea. Do you also like it? Katherine shares you many other food or costume ideas on her site. Pay her a visit now?

Monday, April 23, 2012

Blue Monday ~ Blue Man Group

Last week it was the ladies' turn. This week's Blue Monday is a kind of Man Candy Monday, too.OK, I guess I didn't have that many blue-related pins of guys.



You got that right, Andy Warhol. My most dearly-beloved Hindu god is Shiva, but this is an absolutely beautiful image of Krishna. (I have beautiful pictures of my sweet lord Shiva, but none of them are blue enough.) One of the very first erotic books I ever read, one I didn't even remember to mention in The Good Parts, was a collection of stories about Krishna and Radha.



Then there was Christian Bale. Hey, skinny Christian Bale in a blue jacket, whatcha doin'? Something related to filming your Academy Award-winning Best Supporting Actor role in The Fighter?



But I wonder what you would look like with more meat on your bones, wearing a blue jacket that isn't a track jacket? Probably something like this.



But I kind of feel like that loud blue shirt doesn't go with your hazel eyes. You know what we need? A man with bright blue eyes and a blue shirt.



James Caviezel, you'll do nicely. You do everything nicely in my estimation, ever since I wrote that EPIC Easter post and fell in love with Badass Jesus. Neck beard and all. Why do you think the corresponding Pinterest board is called I Haz An Obsessed?

But maybe I'm a tiny bit color blind, so you tell me: is this shirt blue or is it purple?



The Dork Mistress, whose Tumblr and I are in a relationship, informs me this white suit is Dolce and Gabbana. You know, when JC gives the paparazzi a thumbs up, it kinds looks like


Know what goes great with blue? Gold. What would Jesus do? He would root for Notre Dame. 



I didn't go to Notre Dame. I went to St. Mary's College of Notre Dame, Indiana, the all-women's college across the highway. The kind of patriarchal crap that flies at Notre Dame doesn't go down at SMC, and the pretty Italian and Irish Catholic boys are more fun to look at than they are to date. That's how my alma mater got the nickname School for Lesbian Nuns. I say it with pride - hell yeah, women's spirituality and sexual diversity!

Let the Vatican put that in its pipe and smoke it. (I link to that story about the Vatican chastising American nuns for their "radical feminism." The radical notion that women are people - shocking!)

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Thursday, April 19, 2012

Soul Mind Body Medicine


Guest Post By Dr. and Master Zhi Gang Sha

Every human being has a soul, mind and body. In the East, people talk about soul. In the West, people talk about spirit. Scientists talk about message. In fact, soul, spirit and message are the same thing.
Modern medicine focuses on matter. Blood tests measure biochemical changes inside the cells. CT scans and MRIs determine whether there are growths inside the body. Surgery removes matter from the body. Medications adjust the matter.

Traditional Chinese medicine focuses on qi (pronounced “chee”). Qi is vital energy and life force. The Yellow Emperor’s Internal Classic, the ancient authority book of traditional Chinese medicine, states, “if qi flows, one is healthy. If qi is blocked, one is sick.” Traditional Chinese medicine uses herbs, acupuncture and massage to promote the flow of qi for healing.

Several years ago, the Divine guided me to create Soul Mind Body Medicine. From my more than forty years of energy and spiritual study, together with my study of medicine to become an MD and doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, I have realized that soul, mind and body can work together. Modern medicine and traditional medicine can work together.

Modern medicine focuses on matter inside the cells. Traditional Chinese medicine and many other healing modalities focus on the energy between cells. Soul Mind Body Medicine focuses on the soul. If a person is sick, the soul is sick.

A soul is a golden light being. Soul is spirit. Soul is message. Soul is the essence of life. Soul is the boss.

Soul Mind Body Medicine states: Heal the soul first; then, healing of the mind and body will follow. Because the soul is the boss, I put the soul first. This is why I use the name Soul Mind Body Medicine. Soul is spirit and message. Mind is consciousness. Body carries energy and matter.

Every human being has a soul, a mind and a body. A bodily system, such as the cardiovascular system or the digestive system, has a soul, mind and body. Every cell and every DNA and RNA has a soul, mind and body.

Everyone and everything has a soul.

Soul Mind Body Medicine states that all sickness is due to soul, mind and body blockages. Soul blockages are due to bad karma. Mind blockages include negative mindsets, attitudes and beliefs, as well as ego and attachment. Body blockages are blockages of energy and matter.

To heal is to remove soul, mind and body blockages. Soul Mind Body Medicine removes soul, mind and body blockages. The techniques are very simple. In fact, they are too simple believe. I ask that you keep an open mind and try them. Join one of the many complimentary programs offered every day and experience Soul Mind Body Medicine.

Dr. and Master Sha is a world-renowned healer, inspired teacher, and Divine Channel. He is a medical doctor in China, a doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine in China and Canada and a Grand Master of Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Kung Fu, I Ching and Feng Shui. His work is featured in the documentary Soul Masters and the public television program, The Power of Soul. Master Sha is the New York Times best-selling author of the Soul Power Series. Recipient of the prestigious Martin Luther King Jr. Hall of Fame Award for his humanitarian efforts, in January 2011, he founded the global Love, Peace and Harmony Movement with a vision to create love, peace and harmony for humanity and Mother Earth.

Learn more about Dr. Sha, his complimentary Soul Mind Body Medicine programs, or his upcoming live events by visiting www.DrSha.com or www.Facebook.com/ZhiGangSha


Wednesday, April 18, 2012

WIP Wednesday - Sheep Shifter and BWWM

Authors needed - all genres! Are you an author who'd like to share a 100- to 200-word blurb about a current work in progress on a future WIP Wednesday? If so, please send an e-mail to Erin O'Riordan (erinoriordan AT sbcglobal DOT net).

This week I'm editing "Sheep Shifter" for the Breathless Press anthology Ravaged, an all-shifter anthology. The short story is accepted, but just on the first round of edits. I just went through this with my story for the Breathless anthology Ad-dick-tion Vol. 2 - there are four or five rounds of edits.

Over the weekend, I kept running with the Person of Interest fanfic I started on Friday (see ...in which the term 13-inch is thrown about shamelessly). Yes, my level of obsession with a Thursday-night network TV show is a little bit sad at the moment. Yes, one does not count fanfics as "real" writing, because one receives pre-created characters from someone else's imagination. They're lazy writing, and I thought I'd given up on them forever when I became a professional in 2007.

The last TV show that I wrote fanfics for was Homicide: Life on the Street, and that was when I was in college, more than a decade ago. Inspired by someone else's crazy Homicide/Pinky and the Brain crossover called "Timmy and the Frank," I even wrote a Homicide/Scooby Doo crossover. (It may be lost, or it may be hiding in a box of old diaries from the '90s.)

Guinevere and Lancelot - Free Art License
One thing keeping me from self-censoring and forcing myself not to write these things that cross my mind is knowing that fanfics are a time-honored literary tradition, dating back at least to the days of the wandering troubadours. They would regale their audiences with tales of Arthurian legend. When the affair between Queen Guinevere and Sir Lancelot proved to be a crowd-pleaser, the troubadours embellished upon it. At least, this is one theory I read years ago. In more modern times, the fanfic phenom can be blamed largely on - or credited largely to - Star Trek fans.

For an interesting fanfic that takes place right after the end of the The Hunger Games (the first book), go to Mumfection to read Eschelle's work. The book blog BookishTemptations collects Twilight fanfics.

This is about half of what I wrote between Friday night and Sunday night - the lead-up, the teaser. This is raw, unedited, the first and only draft. WIP Wednesday seems like as a good a place to post this as any. If you're following along, this would obviously happen before the events of Friday's fic. I'll post the second part next Wednesday.

Next I may get inspired to return to working on Billy's Color Palette, my interracial-erotica literary collaboration with Ken Charles. I suddenly seemed to remember working on another BWWM (Black Woman/White Man) story with Ken.

Joss Carter sighed and looked down at her drink, which she’d barely touched. As usual, crossing paths with John had preceded an extremely stressful night at work. They both needed to blow off some steam. He’d taken her up on her suggestion that they hit the bar and was on his second beer, but he’d barely said a word to her the whole time. Typical.

She definitely wasn’t drunk, so it must have been the tension between them that made her say it. “John, how long has it been?”

He set his bottle down, but he didn’t look at her. “How long has what been, Detective?”

“You know,” she said, wishing they weren’t in such a public place. No one sat near them, and the bartender seemed preoccupied at the other end of the bar, but the room suddenly felt too crowded. “Since you’ve been with a woman.”

“A long time,” he said, still not looking at her.

“It’s been a long time for me, too. Too long.” She paused to breathe deeply. “Have you ever thought about – you and me?”

He looked at her then, his cold blue eyes seeming to stare down deep inside her. “Too many…complications.”

She took another sip of the drink she didn’t really want. “What if there were no complications? No strings, no feelings. Just…stress relief. We both need it.”

He didn’t answer her, but turned back to face the bar and finished his drink. Her cheeks flushed, Carter calmly reached into her purse, counted out the bills to pay for her unfinished drink and set them down. She got up and walked away without so much as a goodbye – she’d already said too much.

As she neared the door, Carter suddenly felt John Reese’s arms around her. He pulled her into the hall leading to the ladies’ room and said into her ear, “Is this what you need, Josselyn? Do you want me this close to you, touching you?”

She closed her eyes; the way he said her name gave her familiar shivers of pleasure. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this way. “I think so, John,” she said, trying to sound as cool as possible as his firm grip on her loosened. “I think I need this. The question is, do you? Could you ever be that…vulnerable…with me? Naked?”

He made a sound somewhere between a deep laugh and feral growl. “This isn’t the place.” He let go of her; they stood eye to eye.

“I know a place,” she said.

****

“Where do you know this place from, Detective?” John looked around the motel room, and Carter figured he was plotting an emergency escape route. “Crime scene?” He took off his black jacket and laid it carefully on the back of the chair.

“I didn’t hear you offering to take me back to your place, John,” she said, emphasizing his name. So he was back to calling her “Detective,” was he? Did she make him nervous? She supposed he had reason to be; she had, after all, betrayed him to the Feds before her sudden change of heart.

“That would be…complicated, Josselyn.”

She watched him take off his shoulder holster. She was strapped too – still wearing her service weapon, of course – but watched with fascination as John took out the semiautomatic, checked the safety, then stashed it under the bed. Hidden in case anyone kicked in the door, but accessible. He did the same with the large-caliber revolver from his other side, then unbuttoned his shirt.

Carter started to undress, setting her weapon next to the TV. She let her jacket and blouse fall into a loose pile on the floor. John sighed as he laid his shirt over his jacket on the chair. Underneath that suit, he looked exactly as she’d imagined him: athletic, but not overly muscular, with a smooth chest. Since he didn’t strike her as the waxing type, it must’ve been natural.

“I did that, didn’t I?” she said as he turned to her, noticing the small, jagged scar on his belly that could only have come from a bullet wound. She may not have pulled the trigger, but it had been her fault all the same. He’d almost died that night.

“That’s complicated, too.” He held out his hand and she took it, accepting his invitation to come in closer. She resisted the urge to run her hand over the scar, afraid it might still cause him pain.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“I know.” He pulled her in closer, running his hands down her sides, and Carter wanted more. She heard – felt – him inhale deeply as she reached back to unhook her bra. To his credit, John didn’t go straight for her breasts.

She was also grateful he didn’t try to kiss her. That seemed too intimate, too…complicated. It did feel good to be pressed up against him, though, his long fingers raking through her hair softly. Okay, he smelled slightly like beer, but also like a soft aftershave that reminded her of cloves. He hadn’t shaved recently, though. She could feel the barest hint of stubble on the underside of his jaw.

She wasn’t sure which of them made the first move over toward the bed, but soon they stood on opposite sides. She watched him unbuckle his belt, then turned her back, almost shy, while she stripped down to her favorite pink lace panties. Carter was glad she’d worn them, though she couldn’t quite explain why she had.  

She turned back around in time to see him unstrap the K-Bar knife from his leg. If he were anyone else, she’d have been alarmed at the arsenal he traveled with. She’d arrested gangsters who carried fewer weapons. Hell, she hadn’t been that strapped over in the Gulf.

Their eyes met, and she returned his smile. “I like to be prepared,” he said, almost apologizing.

“Speaking of which…” She reached into her purse and pulled out a condom, then slid it over to his side of the bed. Then she took off the panties, challenging him to step out of his last remaining bit of clothing, those black boxers.

He accepted her challenge. Damn – talk about weaponry. 




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