Beyonce

Ask Beyonce what she wants people to hear when they listen to Dangerously In Love, her debut solo album, and the multi-platinum-selling pop/urban recording artist answers, "My range. I want them to hear all of the musical influences from hip-hop to rock to jazz, there's even a Shuggie Otis sample. I want them to really hearthe talent. I know that folks love me as a pop star. Now I want them to understand me as an artist."
That they will. Musically challenging and lyrically honest, Dangerously In Love is more than just a solo CD from a superstar. It is everything you'd expect from Beyonce and more than you could have hoped for. Another side of someone we've loved for years, Dangerously In Love is equally divided between seductive mid-tempos, lush ballads and fiery club bangers, providing a sharp focus on who Beyonce is right now: as a performer, as a woman, and as a creative force to be reckoned with. The vibe is more mature, more playful, more deeply passionate and sexually aggressive. Dangerously In Love is the sound of a grown woman clearly staking her claim in the world and, in the process, redefining expectations of who she is.

A 21-year-old Houston native, Beyonce Knowles is a founding member and chief songwriter of Destiny's Child, one of the biggest selling female acts of all time. With many of the group's hit songs co-written and co-produced by Beyonce, Destiny's Child has sold more than 33 million records worldwide. When Beyonce won the 2001 ASCAP Pop Songwriter Of The Year Award, she became the first African-American woman -- and the second woman ever -- to receive that honor.
Led by founding members Beyonce Knowles and Kelly Rowland, Destiny's Child burst on the scene in 1997 with their multi-platinum single, "No, No, No," from their self-titled album. That success was dwarfed when Destiny's Child's The Writing's On The Wall was released in 1999. The album would go on to sell more than 10 million copies worldwide, driven in part by three Top 10 hits: "Jumpin, Jumpin," "Say My Name" and "Bills, Bills, Bills," which spent 9 weeks at ..1 on the Billboard RandB singles chart.

A year after Michelle Williams joined Destiny's Child in 2000, the group recorded Survivor, which debuted at ..1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. Survivor was certified double platinum four weeks after its release and has gone on to sell more than nine million copies worldwide. In 2001 Destiny's Child took home two Grammy awards: Best RandB song ("Say My Name") and Best RandB performance by a Duo or Group ("Say My Name"). Destiny's Child has won numerous other awards, among them Billboard Artist of the year, NAACP Image Awards, American Music Awards, Nickelodeon Kid's Choice and The Sammy Davis Jr. Award for Entertainer of the Year at the Soul Train Awards. The group has toured worldwide and performed at many high profile events including The Michael Jackson 30th Anniversary Concert Special and the Concert For New York City.
Given the fact that the general public is so familiar with chart-topping songs such as "Say My Name," "Independent Woman, Part I" and "Survivor," it's fair to enquire how Dangerously In Love differs from a Destiny's Child project. "Naturally the songs on my album are going to share some similarities," Beyonce admits. "But this time because I only had to write for myself, my songs are much more personal. I also wanted beats that were harder and to be able to collaborate with other people. Basically this record was a chance for me to grow as a writer and a singer. There are more ballads. The vocals aren't as precisely produced and because it's just me, there aren't as many harmonies. The experience was very liberating and therapeutic. I felt free, because I could go into the studio and talk about whatever I wanted, but in many ways it was actually harder to be on my own creatively. I depend so much on Destiny's Child (Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams) to tell me if they like something or not. I'm so critical of myself that it's scary to have to depend on your own instincts."

Helping Beyonce trust those instincts are an impressive array of musical collaborators, among them Missy Elliot, Jay-Z, Sean Paul, Mark Batson, Mario Winans, D-Roy and Mr. B, OutKast's Big Boi, Rich Harrison, Fanatic, Scott Storch, and the legendary Luther Vandross on "The Closer I Get To You." Beyonce shares co-executive producer credits on Dangerously In Love with her father and manager Mathew Knowles. She took an active role in all aspects of the album: from writing and choosing material to producing, mastering and mixing the tracks. Beyonce pays tribute to her father on the hidden bonus track, "Daddy," which was produced by Beyonce and Mark Batson.
The sexy first single, "Crazy In Love," featuring Jay-Z, was co-produced by Beyonce and Rich Harrison. Jay-Z returns the favor for Beyonce's part on his hit "Bonnie and Clyde 03." With a beat that Beyonce says is "so hard it makes your heart hurt!," "Crazy In Love" is about that moment when you realize you're falling into love and looking crazy but you simply don't care. The abandon continues on "Speechless," produced by Fanatic. "As soon as I heard the track it inspired me," she admits. "It's very sexy, very sensual. The sort of ballad that I've never done before. This song is definitely a population increaser!"
Laced with an Arabic ambience, fused with a ghetto-fied edge and encompassing a sample from Donna Summer's "Love to Love You Baby," "Naughty Girl" is uptempo and party perfect: a sexy fantasy about having that one night where you lose all your inhibitions, head to theclub and work it like a naughty girl. "Many of the songs on the album examine aspects of relationships, and this is one element."
Also sexy is the dancehall-Arabic flavored "Baby Boy," featuring the red hot Sean Paul. "I knew Sean had to be on my album because I love his approach," she says. "'Baby Boy' is another song about a fantasy and it's one of my favorites."

Such unabashed and upfront emotions might come as a surprise to long time fans but make no mistake, Dangerously In Love isn't a rejection of DC's sound. "I love Destiny's Child and I am a member of the group, "she asserts. "We haven't broken up. We're going to continue to tour and record and be a group. We've recorded a song, 'I Know,' for "The Fighting Temptations" soundtrack. We all decided a long time back to explore solo projects and I'm the third member of the group to release my own record. Things like working apart keep the fire going and keep the fans eager for you. I'm not trying to get away from DC or the legacy we have. I just wanted to show a different approach and the growth I've experienced. "
That growth is evident in Beyonce's burgeoning acting career. In 2001 she starred in MTV's "Carmen." In 2002 she appeared as Foxy Cleopatra in "Austin Powers in Goldmember." This year she will co-star with Cuba Gooding Jr. in "The Fighting Temptations." She has two more features currently in production and can also be seen on the small screen in a series of Spike Lee-directed commercials for Pepsi-Cola. She is also the spokesperson for L'Oreal.

Do Bad Guys Get the Girl ?

If we are to believe the movies, the ruthless tough guy, Mr. Bad Boy, always gets the girl !! If we remember the bad guys at school and college with the best looking babes it appears that the movies could be right. The best looking girls always seem to love the bad guys. Maybe because the best looking guys always became the bad guys ? Everywhere we tend to see bad guys and nice girls, we see fools and meatheads with the girls of our fantasies. In the mall we see our flaxen haired goddesses with America's Most Wanted. Is it nature at work, is it us, what is going wrong? You see men are confused. Men like to refer to stereo types and work from them. We are told that we need to be a hero and a tough guy, but then we are told we need to be in touch with our sensitive sides and be a modern man holding the baby.

Meanwhile the man down the street who treats his girlfriends mean, never calls, is rude and unhelpful and shows little respect appears to have a fan club developing. Life my friends is often unfair. Okay let us look at what is going on with this scenario.

Interest. Yes, interest. Bad guys are interesting, they do interesting things. They have strayed from the straight-and-narrow and are a law unto themselves. They do what they want. They go where they will and they answer to no one. They are interesting. Tow the line, do as you are told and you are dull. Mavericks are interesting, straight guys are not. Generally.

Bad Guys are a challenge, we all love a challenge. Women love a challenge just like guys. If something is a challenge the end results must surely be worthwhile? Of course and bad guys are a challenge. The girls who go after a bad guy want to keep them to themselves and will do a great deal to keep hold. The more you want them, the greater there is a chance they may walk away. Women love to feel good about themselves and getting their bad guy, at least for a while, satisfies that urge. This appeals to some people and the greater the danger of loosing a bad guy, the greater the effort to keep them. There may be a lesson there.

Bad guys are confident and self assured. They know what they are about and don' really care what others think. They are their own men and don't need others to prop them up. Some can become almost caricatures of themselves but that doesn't make them any less attractive. Bad guys don't have to be in shape, just look at James Galdofini from The Sopranos. Somewhat out of shape if Mr. Soprano doesn't mind me saying, but immensely attractive all the same.

What have we got if we combine these facets. Power, strength of character, confidence, a maverick nature and an immensely interesting personality. That equals sexy. Is it any wonder therefore that such types of guys often get the gals. It doesn't mean to say that we like them and it doesn't mean to say that this is fair or a good thing. But it can be natures way.

I am not in any way suggesting that we should all be Mr. Bad Guy. No not at all. What I am saying is that there are lessons to be learned here. What is attractive can be modified and added to our social arsenal of dating weaponry. It is first the way you perceive yourself that matters. If you can increase your confidence levels, get your career on the right tracks, excel in what you do and be your own man within the confines of your working life then this will boost your attractiveness. You don't need to go round being bad, but you can be a bit more deliberate in your actions, a little less available and a little more enigmatic. This will boost your interest factor and again help in your attractiveness.

The modern dating game is highly complex and courting rituals can be a minefield. Go back to basics and analyze within yourself what is it that you think partners like and how can you match of yourself to those qualities. Changing just a few small things could make the world of difference.

Striptease Songs

The visual caress of a well-executed striptease can turn almost any man into a light-headed, panting puddle on the floor. And that’s just the impersonal work of a stripper. Getting a girlfriend to agree to a personal erotic dance is one of life’s great pleasures. But if you think getting her to do it is tough, getting her to do it well is even harder. Sitting there while a girl self-consciously flails around can be the ultimate mood killer.
However, you can help by choosing the music. The right song can make all the difference in the world. Pick the wrong one and watch the clumsy fumbling begin, but pick the perfect one, and watch her lose herself in the music. With so much at stake, it’s only fair that we give you a few suggestions. We’ve dug deep too, going beyond clichés like Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” or strip club staples like “Leave Your Hat On.” Pick your favorite, dim the lights, sit back, and enjoy the show.

"Eyes Without a Face", Billy Idol
You wouldn’t think a sneering, wannabe punk rocker from the ‘80s could produce anything worthy of a spot on this list. But this 1984 power ballad is tailor-made for a deliberate, sensual striptease. It starts off slow, with Idol crooning about a long-lost love before the cooing of songstress Perri Lister, whispering the title of the song in French, joins him. That’s hot enough, but then the song starts to build up until a wall of trademark Idol guitars take it to the next level. Hopefully, your girl will follow suit and kick it up a notch too. Envision her swirling her hair or ripping her shirt open, then envision what you’ll do to her after she does that. Settle down, big guy.

"I'm a Slave 4 U", Britney Spears
Sure, she’s become a world-class train wreck and she has Federline’s stank all over her, but that doesn’t mean her handlers couldn’t write and produce a sexy song for her back in the day. This is basically an anthem for bad little girls, precisely the role you’ll be looking for her to play.
Behind a throbbing techno beat, everyone’s favorite little mouseketeer has a lyrical “coming out” party. She admits she’s young, but she also admits she can’t control herself and wants to give in to her urges -- perfect, inspiring instructions for a girl taking her clothes off in front of you.

"Cream", Prince
Of all cities in the world, it turns out that Minneapolis produced one of the most prolific and sexually charged artists in music history. That, of course, is Prince, and his body of work features songs like “Dirty Mind.” From that fertile mind comes this disco-esque romp that is sure to bring out her wild side.
Layered on top of porno-sounding guitar riffs are lyrics like “You got the horn so why don’t you blow it/You are filthy cute and baby you know it.” It definitely puts the “fun” in funky and is the perfect song if she is a bit hesitant to try this. Prince shamelessly enjoys himself while playing “Cream,” and this enjoyment is contagious.

"Justify My Love", Madonna
The Material Girl caused quite a commotion with this 1990 single. The saucy video was banned by MTV and she recorded remixes that used bible verses in conjunction with the explicit lyrics. The nerve! It was cowritten with Lenny Kravitz, whom Madonna admitted she was shagging at the time of the recording. Their sexual energy is evident, as jungle drums drive the rhythm and Madonna’s coquettish voice moans about “wanting and waiting.”
You’ll be “wanting and waiting” to do very nasty things to the girl who dances to this song for you. If she lets the red-hot song take her away, you’ll be all set to justify your lust.

"Sex (I’m a)", Lovage
Faith No More’s Mike Patton and DJ extraordinaire Dan the Automator collaborated on the relatively unknown 2001 release Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By. But don’t let the deliberately cheesy title fool you; this great album is filled with legitimately sexy songs. The highlight is “Sex (I’m A),” a super-hot back-and-forth between Patton and nymphet Jennifer Charles of ‘90s pop group Elysian Fields. They sing of virgins, one-night stands and making love together -- the perfect recipe for a good time.
The throbbing beat will set the mood, but the overdubbed, orgasmic moans and groans will have both of you scrambling for the song to end so you can make your own little soundtrack.

Bertone Barchetta Concept

Bertone presents the Barchetta concept car in celebration of its 95th anniversary. Based on the floorpan and mechanicals of the Fiat Panda 100 HP, the Bertone Barchetta is an open-topped strictly two-seater sports car that calls to mind the Italian racing cars of the 1950s. In this case, the design explicitly cites the Fiat 500 with Barchetta bodywork created by the young Nuccio Bertone in 1947 as a one-off for his personal use in races.
The decision to celebrate the company's 95th anniversary with a minimalist yet sophisticated model is perfectly in keeping with the Bertone philosophy. Since its very earliest days, the company has interpreted cars by Italian car makers with an elegant style that emphasises their personality and technological content, with an unparalleled passion for sportiness.
Bertone's choice of the Fiat brand to celebrate its 95th anniversary was both natural and emotional. Natural because Fiat is the Italian brand par excellence. Emotional because the birth of Bertone as a coachbuilder of 'special' vehicles is closely linked to the history of the Fiat brand. The historic relationship between the two companies has lasted for more than eighty years and has generated more than fifty highly successful models counting concept cars, one-offs and production cars, from the 850 Spider to the X1/9, from the Ritmo Cabrio to the Punto Cabrio.

Styling
The Bertone Barchetta is the product of innovative styling which still manages to evoke the historic traditions of the company. The compact, muscular body, with its high, taut waistline, is defined by two aluminium shells joined by a large glazed surface that crosses the doors and extends into the bonnet join line before spawning the low, wraparound windscreen.
The first impression is of a tensed body, characterised by fluid volumes and clean-cut lines, creating classic, dynamic proportions. The result is a car which, in keeping with the best Bertone traditions, is completely above fashion; if anything, it makes its own fashion statement with an uninhibited, futuristic style that projects the concept of the Barchetta – a historic icon in the legend of Italian motorsports – into the future with purposeful elegance and sophisticated irony.
The exterior
The upper shell is entirely hand beaten and polished by the master panel beaters still working for Bertone today. This single piece of aluminium extends like a cloak from the front tip of the bonnet to embrace the upper part of the sides and rear arches, terminating in the tail. In the side view, the aluminium sheet twists at the level of the rear wheelarch, creating a muscle that melts away into the tail volume. This is a typical Bertone styling cue, imbuing the car as a whole with a powerful sense of sporting aggressiveness.
The lower shell originates from a large sideskirt that tapers towards the rear wheelarch, contributing to the sloping effect of the side.
The decision to extend the glazing to the doors was taken for both functional and emotive reasons. Functionally, it improves visibility, whereas emotively, the solution emphasises the sensation of freedom that only open-topped driving can produce.
The rearward opening scissor doors, hinged around the rear wheelarch, are a Bertone patent. This is in keeping with the company's historic attention to the specific issue of accessibility, interpreted always with surprising solutions, such as the cockpit canopy of the Testudo (1962), the double gull wings of the Marzal (1967), the hinged windscreen of the Stratos 0 (1970) and the large gate-like sliding doors of the Villa (2005).
The front features LED lights and a closed, floating grille embossed in the metalwork. The rising bonnet line is interrupted by an air vent for the engine. The rear volume is framed by LED lights which point up the muscular width. At the centre of the tail volume is a small luggage compartment, with a cover trimmed in the same leather used for the interior.

The cabin
The cabin, delimited by the wraparound windscreen and rear roll bar and furnished with sophisticated minimalism and minute attention to detail, is directly inspired by the 1947 Fiat 500 Barchetta. The anatomic seats, upholstered in natural leather, are fixed and sculpted directly into the metalwork. A console area between the two seats includes a stowage tray and an iPod dock.
The adjustable dash is anchored to two exposed rails and painted in glossy white. The instruments are essential and easy to read, with a speedometer, gauges for water and oil temperature and a fuel gauge.
Air flow within the cabin is assisted by two centrally mounted exposed fans, covered by a protective grille The gearlever is machined from a solid billet of aluminium and is hand polished. As with competition ‘Barchetta' models, the driving control mechanisms are all exposed.

Designer Jeans

It’s becoming increasingly rare nowadays to find a workplace that demands a suit be worn on a daily basis. Though jeans were once relegated to weekend or outdoor activities, the casual office dress code means that denim has become the new uniform for life: It can be worn at work, at play, and everywhere in between.
That being said, since you wear jeans so often and they take quite a daily beating, it’s not wise to invest $500 in every pair of jeans you purchase. On the other hand, because you wear jeans on a regular basis, you shouldn’t balk at shelling out a bit of cash for at least one or two pairs of high-end jeans, especially considering you’d spend three times as much on a suit you might only wear twice a year.
Mixing up your regular-priced jeans with a couple of splurge-worthy jeans will increase the versatility of your wardrobe and make you look like you spend more on your threads than you actually do. There’s just one caveat to heed when buying expensive denim: Avoid trends. Dropping big bucks on a pair of jeans so trendy they’ll look ridiculously dated in a year’s time is completely absurd.
Choose your pricey denim from among these labels, and the amount of wear you get out of them will more than justify your investment.

Gucci
It’s hard to get any more suave than Gucci, and these jeans are a gorgeous example of what those clever Italian designers are capable of creating. Beautifully cut with a straight leg and a classic medium wash, these are faded just the right amount, and the 10-and-a-half-inch rise means that they’ll sit perfectly on your body -- not too high and not too low. Of course, the Gucci label is imprinted on a leather patch on the back and all the rivets are engraved with the name of the renowned fashion house. All these features ensure that these jeans will look great on nearly everybody in addition to being completely appropriate for any occasion, save the most formal.

Paul Smith
Made exclusively in Japan from hot British designer Paul Smith and woven on an antique loom, these jeans have an irregular finish that will become super comfortable over time. The dark, natural indigo color will match all your casual and dress shirts and will mellow with a lot of wear to yield a lovely patina. A five-pocket, straight-leg fit makes they are great for pairing with pretty much any shoe.

Edwin
Though not technically considered designer denim in Japan, from where Edwin hails, this label has developed a cult-like following stateside, and a pair of these is hot property. Available in sizes 28 to 36, these jeans are cut to flatter pretty much everybody and are extremely comfortable. The look is a gently used one and the color is a classic, distressed blue. The back pockets are evenly spaced on the rear, meaning your butt will better than ever in these babies. You can literally wear these with everything, from sporty casual looks with trainers and brightly colored nylon jackets to night-on-the-town styles with dress shirts, smart shoes and quirky ties. Think of them like the cooler Japanese cousin to your favorite pair of Levi’s.

7 For All Mankind jeans
If you can’t be bothered to spend hours at the gym, just pick up a pair of these jeans to make your legs and your butt look out of this world. They sit low on the waist with ingeniously positioned rear pockets and are cut slim through the knee, flaring slightly at the ankle opening -- a fit guaranteed to flatter many less-than-perfect body shapes. The super saturated, lightly distressed coloring also means these jeans are incredibly slimming, giving the illusion of long legs. A hint of Lycra in the fabric also allows the jeans to really move with your body. Whether paired with a blazer or a T-shirt, these are going to look hot. And since the distinctive “A” signature of 7 jeans is recognized by virtually everybody, these babies are worth every penny.

Levi's jeans
Even if your morning routine consists of rolling out of bed and pulling on a pair of jeans from the floor, if those jeans are a pair of well-cut Levi’s, you’ll always look presentable. These Levi’s exemplify the quality of fabric and cut you should expect from a company that’s been in the denim-manufacturing business for over 130 years. This pair has a gently-used, much-loved appearance due to the dark blue vintage wash with whiskering on the thigh. An antiqued leather patch on the back completes the lived-in look of these jeans, and of course the expert cut of Levi’s combined with a slim-fit, boot-cut leg makes these becoming on almost everyone.

Diesel jeans
A touch different than most jeans, but not so crazy that your friends will be able to spot you a mile away, these jeans will instantly make you look stealthily hipper. The dark blue color means you can wear them with almost anything, but everything you pair these with will be “funkified” thanks to the subtly quirky details on these jeans, including decorative stitching on the fly, slanted, square back pockets, and an inner-thigh patch. Diesel is a superstar when it comes to making slick, fashion-forward pieces, so you’ll be in good hands with a pair of these downtown jeans with an uptown edge.

Why Do Some Men Pay For Sex?

Until I began researching this article, I was of the opinion that any man who paid for sex was either a pervert or so homely looking that he couldn't get a piece of the proverbial pie for free. But then I thought, do guys ever really get sex for free? The simple answer is "no"; there's always some price to pay, no matter how big or small.
But I digress. My inspiration for this article was a particular male friend of mine, Dave, who, as good-looking as he is, insists on seeing a particular escort every couple of weeks rather than finding himself a girlfriend to settle down and enjoy life with.
"Why Dave?" I asked, "Why do you insist on paying a woman who cares nothing for you to keep you company and get your rocks off?"
"Because," he replied, "she brings no emotional baggage to the table, or bed as the case may be; I don't have to listen to her problems, she listens to mine; and best of all, she can give most porn stars a run for their money in the sack. And all I have to do is give up a few hundred bucks. Not a bad investment, right?"

it's cost effective

So, I gathered, sometimes women simply aren't worth the headache. And considering some of the women I know, some guys would probably pay them just to go away.
Then again, isn't comfortable familiarity worth a fight or two? "But I have familiarity; I see the same woman all the time." Hmm, Dave is making me feel somewhat obsolete as a girlfriend at this point.
Aren't there any advantages to having a steady girlfriend, or wife for that matter? Of course there are, but that's not what I'm here for today. I want to know why men would opt to pay a woman for a business transaction in which sex is the barter.
So I hit the streets, bars and lounges in my area of the world and, although some guys made it clear that they would never pay a woman for straight out sex, others freely admitted that, among other reasons, paying for it is far easier than having to play the meet and greet, with only the slight possibility of conclusively greeting a woman's meat.
So without further ado, here's what some guys had to say about hooking up with women in the world's oldest profession:
"Considering I just escaped from a five-year marriage that ended with me paying her to sit on her fat ass and enjoy the fruits of my labor, the last thing I want is a commitment with another gold digger. What I prefer is paying a hot woman to give me exactly what I want without complaining or insulting me. At least that way I know what her intentions are right from the start and I can't fault her for it. To these women, I am the greatest lover, I have the greatest penis and I can do no wrong. And that's the way, un-huh, un-huh, I like it."
-Jake, 34

More comments that'll make your head, yes that one, spin..

"Well, I'm originally from Holland, and prostitution is not only legal there, it's much cheaper than it is here. The thing is, there are brothels there and you know that the women in them are disease-free -- unlike the heroin hookers you may find in the streets. Although I sometimes pay for sex here, it's only because I can have dirtier sex with such women; my girlfriend refuses to go down on me, and escorts -- I don't trust street walkers -- are willing to fulfill my every desire. For the right price, that is."
-Hans, 46

"I simply don't have time to go on four dates with a woman before she even lets me kiss her. So why would I bother spending hundreds, if not thousands, on a woman who may or may not sleep with me, when I can hook up with an incredibly hot chick who fits my physical criteria and will get on her knees upon command? Maybe if I met a woman who really blew me away -- no, not that way -- I would let go of the prostitute thing and go the way of a serious relationship, but for now, I'm quite comfortable living it up on the single side of the spectrum."
-Michael, 39

"To be quite frank (laughs), my wife really let herself go and managed to gain 70 pounds in the last year. I really do love her and she's great with our kids, but man, I can't stand seeing her naked. I can hardly bring myself to touch her. I began going to strip joints to get back that look I used to have at home, but I simply needed to get my rocks off at a certain point and masturbating wasn't cutting it. Of course, it's not the same considering I put on two condoms and engage in straight sex -- no kissing or foreplay, unless she wants to go down on me, but even then it's with a condom because of herpes and all -- and head home right afterwards. I told my wife and of course, she cries about it. What I really want her to do is cry off about 70 pounds, however. Only then will either of us be happy again. I mean come on; I married a mermaid, not a whale."
-Franco, 28

i can understand

Okay, so things are starting to make some sort of sense to me. Of course, I wouldn't be the happiest camper if I found out that my man was paying for sex. First, it would shatter my ego because I'll think that I suck, or perhaps don't, in bed. Then I would get angry because he's cheating -- and yes, it is cheating.
Of course, sex with prostitutes, escorts, hookers, or whatever fancy name you'd like to attach to them, can make a man feel lonely after a while, as many of the men I spoke with admitted.
Being loved by another human being can't compare to getting your rocks off for a price. And although some guys may beg to differ, I think that, in the end, there is a reason why people pair off and commit to each other.

And no, it's not because women make you.


This interesting article is from Askmen.com

Rihanna

If nothing else, it has been an eventful and eye opening year for Barbados born songstress Rihanna. In addition to recording one of the most popular singles of 2005, the hypnotic "Pon De Replay" (which bass bumped out of more car windows while igniting a slew of barbeques last summer), she won over the masses with her charming Bajan persona.

"So much has happened in my life, I feel like I've grown five years in a year," she gushes. No doubt, by the time Def Jam Records released Rihanna's debut album Music of the Sun, it was obvious that this young woman was more than a one-hit wonder. With a work ethic reminiscent of Motown sisters back in the day when soul reigned supreme, Rihanna traveled throughout the world.

2005 saw Rihanna rocking the mic on tour with Gwen Stefani, making crowds sweat in Japan, posing for magazine covers in Los Angeles and shooting her first film role for Bring It On Yet Again. This was a long way from the quiet life she led in Barbados in the parish of St.Michael. Robyn Rihanna Fenty has come through her musical initiation process unscathed. And now she is poised for everything that 2006 may hold as she readies to do it again with her sophomore release A Girl Like Me.

"I grew up so much this past year. I had no choice. To pursue my dreams, and with their support, I left my entire family in Barbados to move to the States. It was a little scary to have no friends or family and all of a sudden step into a recording studio," recalled Rihanna.

"2005 taught me the dedication and responsibility it takes to make this dream a reality. Waking up at 5:00 am to start rehearsals, the training, the schoolwork, interviews, video shoots, going all day; it always seemed glamorous but it is real work. My love for music and singing will never change but the rose colored glasses are no longer so rosy."

"Many times over the past year, I didn't have anyone my age with me. When recording this album, I wanted it to seem like I was having a personal conversation with girls my age," says the eighteen-year-old singer. "People think, because we're young, we aren't complex, but that's not true. We deal with life and love and broken hearts in the same way a woman a few years older might. My goal on A Girl Like Me was to find songs that express the many things young women want to say, but might not know how."

Dropping from the harmonic heavens to the groovalistic dance floor, Rihanna has returned with another single that will have listeners begging the d.j. to play it one more time. Produced by Jason Rotem, the sizzling "S.O.S." is bringing the summer heat early this year. With its hypnotic beat and enticing melody, "S.O.S." utilizes the electro-funk of Soft Cell's '80s classic "Tainted Love" to create a soulful anthem of young love.

"I got excited when I first heard this track and three days later, it was recorded," Rihanna says. Turning heads with its rebel sound, "S.O.S." has been used as the theme song for their NIKE latest women's line, which can be viewed on NikeWomen.com. "Making that commercial was yet another new experience," she says. "It took six days to shoot, but working with choreographer Jamie King (Madonna and Shakira) was amazing."

Focusing on progressing as an artist, Rihanna has recorded a compelling track of heartbreak called "Unfaithful." Penned by her label-mate Ne-Yo and Stargate, the song documents the tragic decay of a relationship when another person starts cheating.

Yet, in this instance, it is the girl who has strayed. "On a lot of records, men talk about cheating as though it's all a game. For me, 'Unfaithful' is not just about stepping out on your man, but the pain that it causes both parties."

Perhaps the most surprising track is the rock meets island vibe of "Kisses Don't Lie." Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken, the principles of her production company, SRP, used a mixture of Caribbean elements, electric guitar and a mesmerizing bassline." Coming from Barbados, I really hadn't heard that much rock music," Rihanna confesses. "Touring with Gwen changed my perspective. So, when I was discussing this project with L.A. Reid, Chairman of Island Def Jam Records, I made sure to say I want to experiment with some rock."

During the recording of A Girl Like Me, Rihanna jet set down to Jamaica to record with Sean Paul on the yardie duet "Break It Off." Smiling, Rihanna explains, "I have so much respect and love for Sean Paul. He took me to visit the Bob Marley Museum before going into the studio, which was an amazing experience. When we finally got to the studio, I felt as though Marley's spirit was in the room with us."

With A Girl Like Me, the beautiful singer proves that her breakthrough was no fluke. After selling 1 million copies worldwide of her debut Music Of The Sun, once again, the summer belongs to Rihanna

Aishwarya Rai

Aishwarya Rai (Ash) is one of Bollywood's pre-eminent leading ladies. This Indian darling burst upon the world stage when her striking beauty, poise and commanding intelligence won her the Miss World crown in 1994. This former architecture major soon became one of India's most famous models landing a prestigious Pepsi campaign and appearing in Vogue Magazine. India's top Bollywood directors were soon lining up to work with Ash. Her film debut in Mani Rathnam's 'Iruvar' (1997) received critical acclaim and her performance in Aur Paar Ho Gaya' (1997) directed by Rahul Rawail garnered her the Best Female Debutante Award. In 2000 she was awarded Best Actress by FilmFare and Zee Cine for her work in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam", in that same year, nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her special appearance in Aditya Chopra's Mohabbatein (2000). In 2001 Ash was nominated for FilmFare's Best Actress Award for Satish Kaushik's "Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai".

Ash's star continued to rise in 2002 working again with Sajay Leela Bhansali in 'Devdas'. 'Devdas' is the most ambitious and most successful film in Bollywood history. It became the first Bollywood picture to ever receive a special screening at this year's Cannes Film Festival and broke box-office records in India and the United States.

2003 brought even more exciting opportunities. Ash became the first Indian actor to be a member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival. She is also the latest member of the elite L'Oreal Dream Team, joining beauties Catherine Deneuve & Andie MacDowell as their international ambassador. She graced the covers of India Today and the prestigious TIME Magazine. Time Magazine has also listed her on their list of the "100 Most Influential People in the World Today". She has graced numerous covers worldwide including USA, UK, China, Russia, Israel, United Emerites, Italy, Spain and France. Ash was also listed on Rolling Stone Magazine's annual "Hot List", Hello Magazine's Most Attractive Women in the World", Stuff Magazine, FHM magazine, V-Life from Variety Magazine, GQ Magazine, New York Times Magazine, Harper's & Queen and countless others.

2004 saw Aishwarya take on the leading role in her first English language film for Gurinder Chadha in "Bride & Prejudice". She also became the first Indian female to be immortalized in wax at the world famous Madame Tussaud's wax museum in London.

With over 17,000 websites dedicated to her, Ash finally launched her "Official Website" www.AishwaryaWorld.com

2005 started with appearances on "60 Minutes", "David Letterman Show" and the most watched television program in the world the "Oprah Winfrey Show". Aishwarya's career continues to grow even stronger - she will soon be seen in Mistress of Spices for director Paul Berges, Jag Mundhra's Provoked, Sanjay Gadhvi's Dhoom 2 and legendary film producer Dino De Laurentiis's The Last Legion opposite Colin Firth and Sir Ben Kingsley. The Queen of Bollywood is already becoming the talk of tinseltown and is currently in negotiations on two major motion pictures.

Mayra Veronica

As Featured on Extra's Star Profile on Dec.2/06, One of FHM's "top 100 Sexiest Women In the World" three years straight, Mayra Veronica has graced the covers of magazines from FHM to Maxim as well as Men's Edge, Smooth, King, Smoke, Maxim En Espanol, Open Your Eyes, Cosmo Fl, Urban Male and many others. She has been featured in countless commercials including Nike's own television campaign opposite Lebron James and EA video games has created a new video character after her in their Def Jam 3 video game which is scheduled to be released in March of '07. Mayra has recently been voted by the US Military Troops as their "Favorite Pin UP Girl" after being one of the nation's top-selling calendars in '04,'05,'06.
After her release in the popular magazine FHM on Aug 2003, Mayra became a household name. The feedback on this layout got her on FHM's 2004 calendar and landed her a spot on their A-list top 100 sexiest women in the world issue for 2004, 2005 and again in 2006. This notoriety made her own calendar one of the top selling calendars in US bookstores for the Hispanic market and made her site one of the top 30 celebrity sites hit with over 3.7 million hits bi weekly to date. Her name continues to be one of the top keywords for Web surfers.
Now Mayra's musical passion arrives unbounded with her debut Latin Internationally Distributed Album: "Vengo Con To'" produced by Roy Tavares and Kike Santander.
Making the transition from television as a regular on the national Univision Networks "Don Francisco Presenta" during her three year run, to a recording artist, Mayra has had music in her soul almost from birth. As a very small girl, Mayra Veronica can recall sitting by her father's side as he played "Cenicienta", a Cuban song about Cinderella. Now she's found a glass slipper of her own two decades later with almost fairy-tale success as an in-demand entertainer.
Born Mayra Veronica Aruca Rodriguez on August 20 in Havana Cuba, Mayra's family moved to the US when she was 5 years old and they settled in one of Miami, Florida's Cuban communities. Mayra studied ballet for 12 years in all, taking a break when adolescence took over and she grew "voluptuous" she laughs now. She also won various honors in a number of beauty pageants, including second runner-up as Miss Miami and Miss Hispanic America. When it became clear that a career in dance was not to be, Mayra turned to acting, but not before graduating from Florida International University with a major in psychology and a minor in business, applying those skills later as her entertainment career blossomed.

Traveling back and forth from the Big Apple to home in Florida, Mayra studied at the famed Strassberg Institute for acting, earned roles in stage plays, and was also signed as a spokes model for the giant Univision television network. At home in Florida, she became a host for the Miami television entertainment magazine, “Miami Hoy,” writing, producing and editing her own segments as she interviewed a roster of celebrities, ranging form Donald Trump and Hugh Hefner to Burt Reynolds, Oscar de la Renta ,Tim Allen and Marc Anthony. Mayra also starred in feature film roles, in PBS productions, independent films such as “Tumbe”, and appeared in nationwide Spanish language ads for a wide array of companies including Loreal, Ford, Colgate, Burger King, Coca Cola, and Allstate. She then landed the role on Univision’s “Don Francisco Presenta”, in which viewers embraced her nationwide, making Mayra one of their top female personalities (Mayra is also the #1 most downloaded female personality on the Univision website).
The launching of Mayra's music career continues the stunning rise of this star who has been named "the sexiest woman alive on Latin television" by FHM magazine as she prepares for her world promotional tour and her debut American Album created by top industry producers. What’s her motto? “Fear Nothin' and if you do...stare fear back in the eye and tell it: Just Watch Me! “

2008 Volvo C30

Introduced as a concept car a few years ago in Geneva, Volvo has not only announced the production of the sporty C30 hatchback, it has announced that this car will come to America later this year.Due in showrooms in summer 2007 as a 2008 model, the C30 is a three-door hatchback that's some 9 inches shorter than Volvo's current small car in the U.S., the S40 sedan.Targeted at young and young-at-heart drivers, the C30 will be powered by a 218-horsepower turbocharged five-cylinder T5 gasoline engine with 236 lb-ft of torque available from 1500 to 4800 rpm.According to Volvo officials, the turbocharged engine makes the lightweight C30 accelerate from a standstill to 60 miles per hour in 6.2 seconds.At the North American debut in Los Angeles, Volvo Cars of North America President Anne Belec said the company wants "to bring new customers in when they are young" and hope to keep them in Volvo vehicles over the years.The C30 seats four, with individual, bucket-style, back seats that are moved a bit toward the center to provide forward visibility around the front seats.Belec said Volvo will offer a variety of accessories for young, active buyers, including snowboard and bicycle racks. Also offered will be optional two-tone body kit combinations that can add contrasting-color lower body pieces.Volvo's Senior Vice President and Design Director Steve Mattin said the company decided to put this option into production after receiving good response on the subtle two-tone appearance on the C30 concept car.As with all Volvos, the C30 will offer plentiful safety features including curtain airbags, anti-whiplash front head restraints and advanced body structure.
The company will announce pricing closer to the C30 on-sale date.

Things To Remember When Borrowing Money

Whether you're starting a small business, remodeling your home or just paying some bills, from time to time you'll need to borrow money. Whether you choose to use your line of credit or take advantage of some equity in your home, you'll want to know what you're getting yourself into before you sign the deal. Here are some things to consider.

1- Shop for the best interest rate
The main thing that you'll be comparing when you're looking for a loan is the best interest rate, which is essentially the price of the money. It's easy to fall for a good sales pitch, but a prudent borrower does his homework. Ask several banks for quotes and then do the same with brokers. You'll get an idea of the price range, but don't be afraid to tell the lowest-priced broker that you think he can do better, especially if other quotes are close. Of course, you need to make sure that you're comparing apples to apples, so be certain that your loan quotes reflect the same amount and time period, and be sure to account for fees.

2- Consolidate your loan
Loan consolidation can have two advantages:
A- It's easier to manage one bill at the end of the month instead of three or more.
B- You can lock in a low interest rate.

Of course, you take a risk; if interest rates continue to drop, you may not be able to reconsolidate, which means you'll be paying more for your money. But if they rise, you'll be sitting pretty.
3- Use equity
Your home equity is actually your money, and sometimes it pays to use it. You can take equity out (essentially, get a check from the bank equal to some or all of your equity), or you can open a line of credit against your equity (essentially using your home as security for the loan). Because this is a secured loan, you should get a better interest rate than a credit card, but on the downside, if you default, you could lose your home. If you take out a home equity loan, make sure you do so to finance a worthwhile project.

Use that line of credit and whatever you do, avoid payday loans..

4- Utilize your line of credit
If you don't own a home or don't want to use your home equity, you can use your line of credit. Essentially we're talking about a credit card. While charging it is almost never the foundation of solid financial planning, a credit card has its merits. First, they're great in an emergency. Second, you won't have to justify your plan to anyone before you charge, which means that you have ample flexibility. On the downside, you're going to pay higher rates. However, you should always try to negotiate a lower rate with your credit card company. Remember; credit cards are a competitive business and it never hurts to ask for a deal.

5- Check the fine print
Whenever you sign a loan document, you'll need to check the details. Two big issues to keep in mind are default and early repayment. Default means that you did not pay on time, and you'll want to know when you're technically in default (30, 60, or 90 days), and what that means (does the whole balance become due; can they seize your assets?). On the other hand, you'll want to know about early repayment. It may sound odd, but some lenders charge a penalty for repaying early. After all, the sooner you pay, the less interest they make. So you'll want to know if you can do that without a penalty.

6- Avoid payday loans
Companies that advertise cash loans with no credit check and no collateral make their money by doing volume business and charging outrageously high rates (upwards of 300%) and penalties. Those companies prey on the desperate guys out there, and they should be avoided at all costs.

7- Maximize your credit score before you borrow
The price you pay for the loan will depend greatly on your credit, so if you're planning to borrow in the immediate future (six months out), check your score and see what you can do to improve it. If you've missed payments on credit cards and utilities, make sure that you make timely payments for the next six months. And take that time to clear up any mistakes or outstanding issues on your credit report.
Borrowing money
Shopping for a loan can seem like a daunting task, especially if you've never done it before. But in a lot of ways, a loan is just like buying a car or a major appliance; they all come with different features and prices. Once you get beyond the intimidation factor, you'll see that with multiple sources, you'll be able to compare apples to apples. So do your homework.

Source: Askmen.com

Anna Nicole Smith Diaries at Auction

Two diaries penned by Anna Nicole Smith in the early 1990s reveal a troubled young woman professing to be deeply in love with octogenarian oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II, and often depressed and concerned about her weight and eating habits.

"I've been really stressed out lately and depressed and I can't quit eating. I feel like a pig," the former Playboy Playmate, who died Feb. 8 in a Florida hotel from a drug overdose, wrote in an entry dated Aug. 16, 1992.

The starlet's journals, made available exclusively to The Associated Press on Thursday, are among several pieces of Smith memorabilia going up for public auction in a few weeks by Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas.

One diary is a purple and green Hallmark hardbound book that includes a handwritten message on the inside cover: "This diary belongs to Vickie Smith. Do Not Read!"

Smith, whose real name is Vickie Lynn Smith, noted — in a very freeform style — the beginning of her relationship with Paul Marciano, CEO of Guess Inc., where she eventually replaced Claudia Schiffer in the company's jeans advertisements.

"O my Gosh!! Paul Marsiano called today to see if I got his books also I'm gonna go to San Antonio to do photo shoot," she wrote on June 23, 1992. "I'm so excited!! I can't believe this. This could be it." The entry ends with five hand-drawn smiley faces.

Two days later she details a trip to a Nieman Marcus store where she bought $3,000 worth of clothing.

"I'm so happy they look great," she wrote. "I hope it empresses Paul Marsiano. ... I'm starving!! I've been starving myself."

By August, Smith revealed a disdain for eating and sex, and growing frustration with Marshall, who was 63 years older than Smith. The two married in 1994.

"I've been really stressed out lately and depressed and I can't quit eating. I feel like a pig. Howard has been buying me som jewelry but he call me 15 or 20 times a day it drives me crazy. I love him but he aggravates me somtimes," she wrote. "I don't no what to do about Paul hes strange guy. I hate for men to want sex all the time."

The entry ends with a large underlined "Chow!"

On June 13, 1992, she wrote that she was hung over and stayed home to watch a movie, adding that she "Took a Zandrex!"

An autopsy report showed Smith died at age 39 on from an accidental overdose of at least nine prescription drugs — including a powerful sleep aid — and that there was no foul play.

Her second diary is a much smaller spiral-bound paperback Guess Kids calendar from 1994. The individual entries are not dated but describe her relationship with Marshall, who was ill and died in 1995.

"Hes so very weak and fragile When I touch him Im afraid he might break," she wrote. "If Jesus desides to take him I dont no what I'll do. I love him so much it hurts me to site and watch him when hes hurting I just want to hold him touch him let him no how much I care."

After Marshall's death, the Texas high-school dropout who became a topless dancer took her fight for his estimated $500 million fortune as far as the Supreme Court.

That ongoing battle could make her infant daughter, Dannielynn, very wealthy. Howard K. Stern, her lawyer-turned-companion, and two other men have claimed to be the baby's father.

The auction house obtained the journals from an anonymous German businessman who purchased them and other items on eBay for more than $500,000 several weeks ago.

Doug Norwine, director of music and entertainment memorabilia at Heritage, said the man decided to auction the diaries after securing the publishing rights. Opening bids will start a $20,000, Norwine said, and he expects the diaries to fetch as much as $100,000.

Make your date delicious

The Legality Of Escort Services

Escort services is usually described where companionship is hired for a night of entertainment or for more a night of intimate but non-sexual services, such as massage. For the most part, these services are legal in the U.S. The state legislatures however recognize the reality that escort services are part of the adult entertainment business and pass various measures to control these services and to ensure that they are distinct from prostitution which is illegal everywhere (except strangely some outlying districts of Nevada).
The most obvious reason for this is anxiety is over the exploitation of minors. Others are rooted in an intolerance of prostitution in American culture since the prohibition era and the recognition that it is often a front for other organized criminal activities.
Different approaches are taken by different states. Some use a regulatory approach and attempt to control the activities that take place through indirect means. Utah taxes escort services where they advertise themselves through partial nudity (leaving the obvious loophole of advertising through fully but glamorously dressed females). North Carolina uses zoning laws to establish and maintain boundaries between adult entertainment areas and other 'family' zones. California law requires escort services to have a police license, thus allowing 'unsuitable' businesses to be closed without the necessity of proving criminal charges.
Both federal and state legislatures use anti-trafficking legislation to prevent adult services being sold across state lines again to prevent the exploitation of minors or foreign nationals.
Finally, all states use traditional anti-prostitution legislation to deal with escort services or escorts who step over the line. There are various legal positions on where this line is but most states take it that an explicit ('verbal') offer of genital based sexual activity in return for an explicit offer of money constitutes prostitution. This does not, however, prevent an escort being hired for other services and deciding on a personal basis to have sex with the customer. And in some states or cities (Seattle, for example) if money put down in return but it is not made verbalized that this would happen then prostitution is not deemed to take place.
In most cases, the prostitute is arrested and charged. Different states and districts take different views of the customer. There is evidence of inconsistencies in the application of the law, depending on local tolerance of the activities. The owners of escort services may be indicted but only if it can be proved that they 'knowingly' ran the escort agency as a prostitution service.
The legality of Internet advertising of escort services is also questionable. An advert which is legal in California may break laws in Florida. The age of consent also differs between states meaning that simply entering the site and viewing a picture may leave the individual open to charges of pedophilia. Many sites have taken to posting legal warnings but the technology forces them to leave the decision to enter the site to the customer's discretion.

The UK legal system is often a version of the jokes about good news and bad news.
Prostitution - exchanging participation in sexual activities for money or other goods - has always been legal in the UK. It's actually arguably more acceptable to charge for your sexual skills than your cooking or brewing skills - you need a certificate or license for the latter two!
However, many of the activities that prostitution often involve are illegal.
The legal situation in England and Wales has changed over time, and keeps changing. A government consultation on sex work laws, Paying the Price, was held in 2004 and we await developments from that. The London market is booming since the EU expansion in May 2004 and with a flood of gorgeous women coming to work to the UK - there has never been a better time from a customer's point view as the competition in the business is fierce. So if you find your girl from a reputable Escort Agency, or call one of the independent london escorts you are guaranteed to have a good time.
Escort services do provide a tantalizing and for the most part enjoyable experience. Do your research and go in with your head free of assumptions. In short, as in any area of adult entertainment, discretion is the better part of value.

Habits That Destroy You

We all have weaknesses. It's only natural, we're primitive beasts called men. We all have that one soft spot that goes against all the common sense, logic and experience we've gathered. Such a weakness can get us into trouble, and can cause us to lose credibility and respect.

That weakness can be a fondness for alcohol, a love of illicit drugs, a gambling habit, an inability to control your debts, being unreliable, an incapability to keep your mouth shut, having a sex addiction, or being a brute who idolizes Mussolini. I'm not immune. As much as I practice what I preach, I have a weakness too, and it's always been the sight of an angelic brunette with legs that can melt butter (and at times that weakness spreads to Eastern European blondes with racks that would make Costco blush).
Though said brunettes can cause my most primal urges to get the better of me, I can still keep it my pants. It's a habit that won't destroy me. Sure, I have mistresses, but they are all kept firmly under control so that it does not affect the rest of my life. I especially keep my "weaknesses" away from my businesses, so that the two never cross paths. So I have some habits -- some bad, some good -- but I'm smart enough to know when a habit gets out of control and has the potential to wipe me out. Some people can't make that distinction, so this article is for you.

sign of weakness

A bad habit proves you have weaknesses and a lack of discipline in some aspects of your life. How that habit controls your life shows how disciplined you are. But we can't get away from the fact that you are still weak and vulnerable in one area of your life. I've covered the dangers of appearing weak before. Having the appearance of weakness makes you a target for your enemies. They have found a loophole in getting to you. By having a bad habit that can destroy you, you open yourself to being exploited. Bad habits also affect your reputation.
When you lose control (i.e. you can't help but gamble when you hear the faintest sound of cards shuffling), it takes a toll on your reputation too -- you are seen as fallible and a potential liability. In my world, liabilities end up in the East River. You don't want anyone to think you're unreliable and unsavory; putting doubts in people's minds about your reputation is bad for business. It also has a snowball effect. Imagine if my enemies think my brunette/leg fetish is out of control. They think they found a way to wound me. Next thing I know, these cafones start sending every auburn-haired girl with a great arse in the county my way, until I put myself in a compromising position and they have a safe way to take me out. I've done it to others; why couldn't it happen to me too?

Check out the most dangerous habits a guy can have...

breaking down the habits

Alcohol: Booze can go from a nice accompaniment to a meal to controlling everything you do. All it takes is one moment with the wrong alcohol, at the wrong place, and at the wrong time to open your mouth and say things that will haunt you for a lifetime. Then you'll have a real reason to drink. Recovering from the damage to your rep caused by the bottle can take years.
Drugs: Like alcohol, they make you lose control, logic and reason. Unlike alcohol, they can be a more expensive habit and unlike being found face first in a pool of your own vomit, you end up in the can for dealing or doing the junk. Drugs screw with your brain, which is why the cocaine lords in Colombia don't touch their own supply. Like alcohol, by the time it's doing you enough harm to destroy your life, you'll be too souped up to do anything about it.
Gambling: The problem with gambling is that it doesn't take long for your gambling debt to eventually land in the hands of people you don't want knowing your name. You become known as a degenerate and you add no value to your life. In fact, you end up destroying everything of value in your life because the vig is so high, you can't help but sell off your liver to pay off the juice. Debt is a great way to destroy even the strongest of men.
Sex addiction: When your penis is making decisions your brain should be making, it's inevitable that you'll make a stronzo out of yourself. Sex and an addiction to women can cloud your judgment, make you easily influenced by a pair of T&A, and eventually burn associates who will look at your obsession with the opposite sex as a good scapegoat to screwing you over, or questioning your decisions and rationale.
Being a big mouth: Not being able to keep your hole shut can be a very nasty habit. Not only do you risk saying things you shouldn't, wrecking your reputation or being perceived as untrustworthy, you can screw someone up the arsehole pretty badly. That could cost you big time, unless you like wearing cement shoes.

getting over bad habits
Look, I'm no freakin' therapist over here, but there are some things you can do to get rid of the bad habits. I know it's not easy, I know it takes time, willpower, love, hugs, and a good shot across the head, but be a man, grow some testicoli , and get it done.
1- Be aware of your problem
If you are getting beaten up, losing your friends, end up in the hospital more times than Michael Jackson, max out your credit cards, or are always told what a jerk-off you are, maybe it's time for you to go up a hill for a few hours to get some perspective on your life. If you can't see that something is wrong, you're hopeless. If you need people to point out your stupidities, you have no chance. Either open your eyes or get out of town.
2- Be disciplined, not half-arsed
If you don't put all your effort into coming correct, you're doomed to fail. Like anything in life, things done half-heartedly end up being sloppy, inferior, and prone to breaking under minimal stress. Don't be a fool, don't waste your time, own up to your faults, and change .
3- Change your circle of friends
Unfortunately, too often we are a product of our environment, and if that environment is rotten, guess what happens to you? Stop hanging out with losers and people that are a negative influence. If they don't add value to your life, they are sucking it away. Friends either help or hurt, otherwise they are just strangers. A wiseguy that purposely got out of the business is not going to get too far by hanging out with wiseguys still in the business, is he?
4- Sabotage yourself
Sometimes, we need the crap beaten out of us for the truth to sink in. Sometimes we need to be taught a tough lesson in order to learn. So maybe you need to set yourself up for some severe consequences that will scare you halfway to Bangkok to get your life back on track. Turn yourself in, rat on someone connected, screw with the wrong guy's wife; do whatever it takes for you to hit rock bottom and wake up.

zero sum game
Like every bad habit, you are essentially playing poker with your life. Your bad habit makes you happy, it brings you a little bit of a thrill, you can feel like a winner after, but it can also screw you six ways to Wednesday (and to a back room for a beating with a bat). In the end, you have to ask yourself if the pleasure of the habit outweighs the risk it poses to the rest of your life, and take your chances if it does. As much as I love brunette tail, it's a zero sum game.

I know that, for all the pleasure they give me, they have plenty of downsides. I love to gamble on prizefights, but not enough to sweat if I lose big. I love a good wine, but not enough to lose my composure by overindulging. Control your bad habits or, better yet, get rid of them. We're human and we're imperfect. It doesn't take much for a vice to highlight those imperfections, so why not do something about it?

Source: Askmen.com

Rules of Stress-Free Travel

Once upon a time, air travel was a glamorous adventure. Now, it's more of a calamitous misadventure. Here's how to get from place to place without feeling like part of a cattle drive

1206_art_travel.jpg So a whole group of weary travelers picked up their carry-ons and moved over to the new gate. And waited. An hour later, a second plane landed and taxied in. Passengers got off. It would only be a short time, we were told, before we boarded and headed to Hong Kong. We waited. And waited. And then, materializing out of a doorway, came the same shy and embarrassed airline employee.

"Very sorry," she said, "but this plane is more sick than the other plane...so...we will take the first plane!" And, like dutiful (and dumb) sheep, and without even questioning the agent as to how sick any of the carrier's planes were, we all marched quietly back to the first malfunctioning plane, boarded, and somehow made it to Hong Kong.

A few days later, I found myself on an Aeroflot flight to Moscow. The flight was not only oversold but also overcrowded. And not just by passengers, but by what seemed like hundreds of oversize horseflies. We actually roared down the runway with a standing-room-only crowd of 12 people in the aisle, desperately holding on to the sides of passengers' seats as we became airborne.

And the flies? No problem. The flight attendants apparently were used to this problem on Aeroflot, and, without even cracking a smile, walked down the aisle handing out...flyswatters! Talk about in-flight entertainment.

When it comes to airplane horror stories, I have more than my fair share. I travel nearly 400,000 miles a year, and I've seen just about everything that can go wrong when you fly. I've experienced three emergency landings. My flights have been hit by lightning five times, once so severely that it burned a grapefruit-size hole in the plane's tail. I've been on aircraft that have lost engines and other parts of the plane in midair.

And once, my flight landed safely only to be broadsided on the ground...by a catering truck. I've been laid over in London, delayed in Des Moines, marooned in Khartoum, and stuck -- more than I care to remember -- in 35E. But I've lived to tell the stories and learned a lot along the way. So this holiday season, don't put yourself blindly in the hands of the airlines, hotel chains, and car-rental companies.

Use these 21 rules of stress-free travel, and seize back a little control. You'll reduce the stress and the strain on both your mind and your wallet.

TALK TO A HUMAN
Your new travel mantra for 2007: human being. While it may seem cheaper and easier to book your flight on the Internet, remember that many Web sites pose as informational when they are, in fact, transactional -- trying to push the sale. I'm not saying not to use the Internet; I'm just saying not to book your flight there first. Instead, quickly go online and find out which airlines service the route you want to take, then type in gethuman.com, which will tell you how to maneuver quickly through the customer-service tree of your chosen airlines. Now, pick up the phone.

START WITH THE PRICE
Let's say you're calling to make a reservation for a flight from Chicago to San Francisco. The first question the agent will ask you seems reasonable enough: "When do you want to travel?"

Don't answer that question. Instead, respond with a question: "Before I answer that, can you just go to your screen and punch up all the published fares on the Chicago to San Francisco route?" This will take the agent about four seconds. "Now," you say next, "scroll to the bottom of the list. What's that fare?" (Since no airline wants to promote their cheapest flights, the lowest fares are buried at the bottom of the screen.) Work your way up that list, finding the best fare for you with restrictions you can live with. Then, and only after you get the lowest rate possible, go to the Internet and see if you can find a deal that beats what you have.

Remember, once you make an airline reservation, you have 24 hours in which to book it. During that 24-hour window, you can go to the Web and see if you can beat that human-being deal. Be sure to check out farecast.com, a new site that actually predicts airfare prices on routes at the 55 busiest airports in the U.S. It's a good guide.

Also check out farecompare.com and my new favorite site, airfarewatchdog.com, which constantly searches travel databases for little-known, sometimes hidden, fare deals. For last-minute deals, check out site59.com, which does an excellent job of unloading unsold inventory.

RESEARCH YOUR FLIGHT
Each month, the U.S. Department of Transportation publishes a list of flights with the worst on-time records in America -- by route, airline, and flight number. In one listing, USAir flight 1619 between Philadelphia and Atlanta was reported late 100 percent of the time. And there are dozens more that are late more than 95 percent of the time. You can also get real-time information at flightstats.com. It lists how often a flight is canceled, diverted, or late.

STAY FLEXIBLE
If all the flights to your destination city are booked, think alternate airports (Providence instead of Boston, Oakland instead of San Francisco, Milwaukee instead of Chicago, to mention just a few) or routings that get you to Hawaii, for example, through Denver, Phoenix, or Las Vegas. You'll almost always save money and in many cases have less stress (and fewer delays) because you'll avoid the giant airports. For example, Midway has fewer delays than O'Hare, and Long Beach has a better record than LAX.

NEVER CALL TOLL-FREE NUMBERS
The same thing applies to making a reservation for a hotel room. Never call the 800 toll-free number to find a hotel room from a large chain. You'll only be connected to a third-party clearinghouse with a mandate to sell rooms at a designated price -- no room to negotiate. Instead, call the hotel directly.

But don't ask for reservations -- they'll just reroute you back to that 800 number. Instead, ask to speak to the manager on duty or the director of sales. They are the best arbiters of their room inventory. If the Schmidlap wedding party canceled last night and they suddenly have 60 rooms to sell, that 800 number (or the chain's Web site) may not have that information.

You're now in the best negotiating position. And an even better reason to talk to a human being at the hotel: You've established a relationship. Look for that person when you check in and you stand a much better chance for an upgrade.

CALL DURING FOOTBALL
Always try to call a hotel at 4 p.m. on a Sunday to make your reservation. Why? That's the one day each week that hotel revenue managers -- the folks who set and control room rates -- aren't working. You're in a better position to negotiate, since the hotel knows that an unsold room is revenue they'll never recoup once the sun rises.

DON'T BE BLINDED BY STARS AND DIAMONDS
Forget hotel ratings systems. In many destinations, stars are a government designation for how much the hotel is charging, not a reflection of quality. It just means you're paying more for your room. Stars and diamond awards are great for hotel-employee morale and are used by hotels to justify charging a higher rate, but how does that benefit you? It doesn't.

MAIL YOUR LUGGAGE
There are essentially two types of luggage: carry-on and lost. That's why I haven't checked a bag on a domestic flight in eight years. If I need to tote more than I can carry on, I simply ship my bags ahead to the hotel. I use FedEx, but there are more than 17 other private courier companies that perform the same door-to-door, room-to-room service.

In addition to DHL and UPS, check out luggageconcierge.com, luggagefree.com, and virtualbellhop.com.

I save an average of two hours of my life every time I fly by not checking bags. I don't have to schlep, I don't have to stand in line at the airline counter, I don't have to stand in line at the TSA, and then, when I land, I don't have to stand in that refugee circle around the baggage carousel, hoping against hope that my bags were actually on the same flight I was. Where are my bags? In my hotel room. How cool is that? How much does it cost? As little as $40 per bag. But the real question -- and a rhetorical one at that -- is, how much is it worth?

Because of issues with customs, it's not always a good idea to send your bags ahead when you are traveling internationally. In cases like that, if you must check your bags, practice some basic common sense: Always put an identification tag on the outside of each bag (but list only your name and cell-phone contact number), and do the same on the inside of each bag. Airline baggage conveyor belts can devour ID tags, but this way, if your outside tag gets ripped off, someone from the airline can still reach you.

IGNORE DEPARTURE TIMES
If you call the airline and ask if your flight is on time, you'll be sorry. More often than not, the airline agent will interpret your question to mean, "Is the flight scheduled to leave on time?" That's meaningless. Instead, ask to be given the tail number of the aircraft assigned to your flight, and then ask where that aircraft is. If you're scheduled to fly from Boston to Atlanta in two hours, but the aircraft assigned to your flight is still in Belize, well, now you know you're not leaving on time before you ever leave your house or office.

GO WHERE YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO GO
Since you won't have any bags to check, follow my advice and save even more time and aggravation. If you have an early-morning flight from a dual-level airport, don't have your car drop you off at departures -- it will be jammed with vehicles and people -- but at the empty downstairs arrivals area. Who is arriving at 6:30 in the morning? No one. No traffic, no lines. Get out of your taxi and just take the escalator upstairs and through security to your gate. And when you land, there's absolutely no reason to go to arrivals, which will be a zoo. Get picked up at the empty departures level.

UNDRESS FOR SUCCESS
Before you leave for the airport, put everything metallic you're taking with you -- watch, keys, coins, jewelry, pens, chains, et al -- in ziplock plastic bags and pack them in your carry-on. Dress on the other side of security, please! This will save five minutes per passenger. Do the math: It makes so much sense.

IGNORE THE DEPARTURES BOARD
If the airlines ran the shipping business, the departure boards would still show the Titanic as "on time." Look at the departures board for only one piece of information: the gate from which your flight is scheduled to depart. Then go immediately to the arrivals board. Check to see what is arriving at your gate. If nothing is arriving at your gate, then you can enjoy the luxury of not being disappointed at the counter.

INVOKE RULE 240
The airlines definitely don't want you to know about this one. It's a rule that has been around for more than 20 years, but unless you invoke it, don't expect the airlines to volunteer it. And here's what it means: In the event of a delay or cancellation for any reason whatsoever (except those caused by weather), if you invoke rule 240, the airline must endorse your ticket over to the next available flight -- not their next available flight, which might not leave until next Tuesday. One word of caution: Some low-cost airlines, like JetBlue and Southwest, which have no interline arrangements with other airlines, are not covered by the rule. But each of the legacy airline carriers (American, United, Northwest, Delta, US Airways) is still governed by 240.

NEGOTIATE YOUR PHONE BILL
Yes, phone and Internet charges are negotiable, as long as you make a deal ahead of time. Before you take your room key, tell the person at the front desk you want your phone and Internet charges bundled -- a flat fee of $10 or $15 a day for unlimited Internet and domestic long-distance calls. More often than not, the hotel will agree to the deal. This also applies to other annoying charges like resort fees and use of the hotel gym. Negotiate everything up front.

STAY BELOW THE EIGHTH FLOOR
Modern firefighting equipment doesn't have the capacity to easily fight fires, or rescue people, higher than eight stories. Staying on a lower floor is especially important in third-world countries, where fire-safety regulations and procedures aren't quite as strict as they are in the U.S.

FOLLOW THE BOOSTER PUMPS
Most high-rise hotels cannot maintain adequate water pressure. As a result, many have installed booster pumps in their buildings. The pumps aren't necessarily on alternating floors, just different floors. So when you check in, ask the front-desk clerk to call engineering and find out what floor the booster pumps are on. If, for example, the answer comes back that the pumps are on 4, 6, 9, 11, and 15, then ask for a room on either 4 or 6. Why? Because when you walk into your room on a floor where there's a booster pump, you'll be guaranteed a decent hot shower no matter what time of day you need it.

ASK ABOUT CONSTRUCTION
Now that you've made friends with the front-desk clerk, ask another question: "How close is my room to the construction?" Virtually every hotel runs on a constant cycle of renovation, which means that, at any given time, an entire floor (or floors) is closed for reconstruction. If you don't ask that question, you could be given the keys to the Jackhammer Suite.

GERMPROOF YOUR ROOM
Short of wearing a biohazard suit, you need to do three things immediately upon entering your room: First, always pack some sanitizing wipes, and use them to wipe down the TV remote and the phone handset. Second, walk over to the bed, pull off the bedspread and throw it into a corner of the room. Never look at it again. Never touch it again. And last but not least, go into the bathroom. Turn on the hot-water faucet and place the water glasses under that faucet for at least three minutes.

Why? Hotel maids are heavily tasked to clean between 12 and 16 rooms per shift. And if your room is one of the last three she worked on, chances are your maid ran out of time and didn't replace the water glasses from the last guest. Instead, she probably wiped them down with the dirty towels left lying on the bathroom counter.

THINK LOCALLY
Once again, using an 800 number to reserve a car may not get you the lowest rate or the best car. Check out rentalcars.com for great comparison prices at the local level. Another tip: Rent a car on a Saturday. Why? Many cars suddenly become available on Saturday when customers who reserved them for the weekend don't show up.

TAKE PICTURES
Since you probably travel with a digital camera, why not put it to good use? Walk around the rental car and look for dings and dents. If you see any, activate the camera's date-and-time option to stamp on each photo, and snap a few shots. Show them to a rental-agency employee, and get his or her full name. This will take all of five minutes. Later, if the company claims you banged up the car (and these repair charges can be draconian), you'll have proof the damage was preexisting.

GET YOUR OWN GAS
In some cases, rental-car companies will charge you north of $6 a gallon to fill up your tank when you return the car. Save some real money -- and time -- by going to gasbuddy.com, which lists the cheapest gas stations along your route, and then fill up the tank yourself. Since time is also money, traffic.com will get you customized traffic information for your trip, and the info can even be sent to your cell phone.

Take Naked Pictures of Your Girlfriend

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Grey’s Anatomy Star Kate Walsh

On TV, Kate Walsh is a sexually charged, romantically confused, fiercely intelligent surgeon. But TV isn’t real life.... In real life, she’s not a surgeon.

Kate Walsh can’t understand why her ass is so damn hot. It’s Manhattan in the 1990s, and Walsh’s breakthrough role as Grey’s Anatomy’s Dr. Addison Montgomery-Shepherd is a decade away. For now, she’s just a struggling waitress on a first date, riding in a BMW 5 Series, and unfamiliar with one of the newest features in luxury cars. “When you don’t know what a seat warmer is or that you’re sitting on one, how do you tell a guy you’re out with for the first time that your ass is burning up?”

Bimmer Man had superb tickets to Così fan tutte at the Metropolitan Opera, which is why Walsh—an opera fanatic—stuck it out, even when her date began taking bizarre liberties. “I get into the car, and the first thing this guy does is spray me with perfume,” says Walsh, laughing. “I don’t even know where it came from. Maybe it belonged to the last woman he killed.”

Today, Walsh has a BMW with heated seats of her own, and she can buy her own perfume, thank you. Dressed in layered lacy camisoles, a denim skirt, and knee-high Christian Louboutin boots the color of a Pacific sunset, the 39-year-old Walsh looks younger in person than she does as the romantically tormented—and tormenting—neonatologist she plays on TV. Her ivory skin is smoother, her cheekbones are more chiseled, and her features—that fiery red hair, those icy blue eyes—are much softer than those of her preternaturally unflappable character who has loved (and let go of) two of prime time’s most dominant McAlpha males. Across the table at Puran’s Restaurant, in the hip but discreet L.A. neighborhood of Los Feliz (where she owns a two-bedroom home that her recent success has helped her to buy and now renovate), Walsh is warm, friendly, inviting, and endearingly kooky. She is far more interested in learning about her dinner companion than she is in talking about herself. It’s not because Walsh prefers to be hidden, but rather that she possesses a quality increasingly rare in the solipsistic world that is Hollywood: inquisitiveness. kateinline1_1.jpg

“I’m curious about everything in life, and lately I’ve been obsessed with my own mortality and the very real notion that life is short,” says Walsh. One reason for that is her encroaching 40th birthday, in October. Another has chased her since the death of her father, an Irish immigrant who later became a union leader (her mother is Italian), when she was 22. “That was the first hit I had of ‘Oh my God, it ends.’ ” That awareness of the fragility of life propels her need to get everything in—to travel and read and explore and cook and drive fast cars (she recently bought a 1985 Aston Martin)—yet she is trying at the same time to figure out a way to slow down. “I feel torn between having the time of my life and wanting very serious things, like a surplus of love for a family and all that,” says Walsh. “But what’s in front of me right now is work. Often, I think it would have been so great if this success had happened when I was 27 or 28, but then again, I wouldn’t have had the maturity back then to deal with it and not end up in rehab.”

Walsh can’t remember a time when she didn’t work. At 14, she manned the cash register at a Burger King in Tucson, Arizona, where she moved with her mother, stepfather, and four older brothers and sisters (two of each) after her parents divorced (the family spent its first 11 years in San Jose, California). Before that, her stepdad, a prison psychologist, paid her $5 a page to type up psychological profiles of inmates he treated. And in the past several years, she has worked regularly, if not recognizably, as an actress in both TV—as Drew Carey’s girlfriend on The Drew Carey Show, for which she plumped up with a fat suit—and films, like Under the Tuscan Sun, in which, coincidentally, she played the lesbian lover of Grey’s cast mate Sandra Oh.

But it’s her testicle-torquing turn as Patrick Dempsey’s cuckolding wife that has seared her into our consciousness. Originally, her role was written into only five episodes, introduced in the first season’s finale, in May 2005, as a noirish, wavy-haired, scarlet-lipped vixen in black Prada heels, the heartless siren who dared to cheat on McDreamy and was now singing her song to lure him away from Meredith Grey, the show’s title character. “I was aggressive and catty and witty,” she says. “It was fun.” inlinequote.jpg Fun, yes, and convincing. So much so that Walsh’s tough-talking trollop proved too tantalizing to let go, and the show’s producers decided to extend her role. Good thing, too, as the episodes she had recently filmed for a new sitcom called The Men’s Room never made it to the airwaves. “My last job before Grey’s was playing a transvestite Las Vegas showgirl on CSI,” she remarks. “Let’s just say I was pleasantly surprised with the news.”

Walsh adapted easily to the pressures of working with a talented ensemble cast on the hottest, most successful set in television. Asked for her reaction to the blowup over Grey’s cast mate Isaiah Washington’s antigay remarks, she insists there has been “no fallout on the set, really,” but she can’t seem to hide her anger at the distraction. “We’re plowing through and working really hard and leaving it up to the powers that be. It was definitely sad. It’s annoying. And it eclipsed our Golden Globes win, which I was upset about.”

Despite the distractions, Walsh soldiers on, as she has always done when life hasn’t abided her desires. As a tomboyish little girl, all she wanted was a set of walkie-talkies. Instead, her parents gave her a CB radio. Her handle was Katie-Kat, a childhood nickname. “I was in the fourth grade talking to truckers,” she said. “I loved it.”

In high school, she tried out to be a song leader, which is something like a cheerleader but with more dancing and less athleticism—“Sort of like what the Laker Girls do,” she says. For the audition, Walsh dressed in a gold leotard and tights, rubbed her body from head to toe with gold powder, and sang “Twilight Zone,” a 1982 demi-hit from the Dutch hard-rock band Golden Earring. Walsh had the lyrics down, but for reasons she still can’t explain, her body froze. “I did the same dance move over and over for the entire song, and the judges just stared at me.” Walsh didn’t make song leaders, no surprise. But she did make the shot-put team, and even earned a junior varsity letter. “That’s when I learned my strength lay in hurling heaving, massive balls.”

Walsh began her acting career studying at the Piven Theatre Workshop, in Chicago. It was in the Windy City where she made lifelong friends with screenwriter and director Adam McKay, who later introduced her to Will Ferrell. (The three of them worked together in the 2005 comedy Kicking & Screaming.) She continued on to New York with the hope of doing theater and independent films, but steady TV work determined her career choices, while sometimes undermining her romantic ones.

“I need to do with relationships what I’ve done with work,” says Walsh, who admits to having leaped into not-so-appropriate liaisons as an escape from the stress of her day job. “In the past, I’ve been work, work, work—and then I’m done and ’cause I’m tired and desperate, I’m like…YOU!” she shouts out, as though grasping for the nearest warm male body. The result has been passionate unions with men who weren’t good for her but were “too tempting and snaky and delicious and sexy” to resist. In some ways, these passionate mismatches served their purpose for Walsh. “In the past, I think I’ve looked to men to slow me down and help me rest,” she says. “Picking people who weren’t so available allowed me to be selfish.”

But Walsh realizes that perhaps she wasn’t the only one who was being selfish. Men have often had difficulty with her commitment to work, and her most recent serious relationship came to an end shortly after she secured her part on Grey’s Anatomy. Often, she has found herself landing a consuming role, she claims, only to have the man in her life say, “Hey, I know you’re an actress, but you’re really going to do this?” kateinline2_1.jpg

Not so ironically, perhaps, Walsh seeks in a man the same characteristics that are just beginning to emerge within herself: consistency, ­compassion, and the ability to be present in the now. “I’m a bit of a late bloomer,” she says, although it’s clear that, until now, Walsh simply hadn’t been ready for the constancy of a domestic partnership. “I realize it’s a juvenile fear, but I haven’t wanted to be in a relationship where I’m doing a downward dog and some guy is just like, ‘I hate you. I hate it when you do whatever that thing is that you do that I hate.’ ”

These days, though, she looks forward to being hated, loved, and everything in between. She slips into a stream-of-consciousness ramble about the perfect romance: “It’s a weird dance, when we’re in the same physical space but doing our own thing, and I’m here and he’s there and sometimes we’re madly and passionately f--king and other times I’m like, ‘I don’t even know who you are.’ But that’s real and you get through it and you keep going and you love him, but sometimes you don’t, and you want to have sex with him, but if not, that’s okay too, because in a little while, an hour or a day or a few days later, you will.”

And this future as-yet-unknown guy whom the willowy 5-foot-9 Walsh will mostly love but sometimes hate doesn’t have to be an Adonis.

“I don’t need someone with a hot body. He can be fat or overweight and have a belly. It’s very much about style and substance and humor, interest, curiosity, and being really smart.” And literate. When it comes to books, Walsh is an unabashed Anglophile and pores over works written by modern British authors both dead (Joseph Conrad, Evelyn Waugh) and alive (Ian McEwan is her current favorite).

As Grey’s winds down its third season, Walsh finds the boundaries between herself and her character beginning to blur, perhaps a bit more than feels entirely comfortable. “With an hour-long drama, you start playing a little closer to who you are, because the writers hear you and are around you and they start writing for you,” she says, explaining how her character became more vulnerable and complex.

When first preparing for her role of Derek Shepherd’s wayward wife, says Walsh, “I remember wondering, Why did she cheat? Why? Why? Why?” But later, as Addison becomes more three-dimensional and more human, it becomes evident. “She was lonely in her marriage,” says Walsh. “Without it, she’s now lonely at Seattle Grace.”

This is where art becomes a little too much like life for Walsh. “Here I am working 13-, sometimes 16-hour days, and trying to date and it’s so new to me to date more than one person at a time. Sometimes I feel like, What am I doing? Am I becoming my character, or is my character becoming me?” says Walsh, who hopes the show’s writers settle her into a happy relationship sometime soon. “I’m starting to get a little superstitious here. I definitely identify with my character in that, romantically at least, this is not where I thought I’d be at 39.”

Still, finally becoming known as an actress (rather than just working as one) and, yes, being so busy, has forced Walsh to reset her priorities. She no longer looks to men to relax and relieve her stress, and often rejects wild nights out in favor of quiet evenings at home alone, drinking wine in front of the fireplace in her flannel pj’s, a good book in her hands, and her dog, Lucy, and cats, Billy and Pablo, by her side. “Part of me is like a 19-year-old boy who wants to go out and party,” says Walsh, “but there’s another part of me that’s 80 and needs to go home before I break.”

Understanding such things about herself has prepared Walsh for what she hopes is her next big thing: love. “I love my life, but I’m also eager to share it. I’m a total romantic, but also reticent and skeptical, ’cause I think some people have a lot of flowery rhetoric and love to write a 16-page e-mail describing everything they’re thinking about you, but it’s more about their own proselytizing and not necessarily knowing how to actually show up.”

And she doesn’t mind if the man who finally does show up is carrying along some personal baggage. “You don’t want to date a guy who’s 39 or 40 and hasn’t been in a committed relationship before and doesn’t have a romantic history,” she says. “Because that’s the guy who sprays perfume on you and puts the seat warmers on.”

Source: bestlifeonline.com