Erotica, Porn or Smut?

If you listen to the mainstream media, you'd hear that romance is the most popular genre in fiction. However, some are finally beginning to be more honest (and maybe get over their Puritanical leanings) and admit that erotica is more popular. In fact, one publication stated it is 4,000% more popular than regular literature.

Face it, we like sex.

Although some of my books include sex between characters, I don't write erotica. However, in the past I did write some short stories that some would call Porn. The really strait-laced might call some of those stories “smut.” I enjoyed writing these, almost as much as the satirical stories I've written. Hey, I'm a guy and it's sex.

It also didn't hurt that it paid well. The majority of short stories I’ve had published were in literary magazines and they typically only paid in copies of the magazine. Porn paid even for really short stories that they could publish as letters. Yes, I used a pseudonym to author those stories, but getting acclaim wasn't the aim (like the literary ones). For a poor, struggling writer porn meant being able to buy a few more table scraps to survive on for the month.

So what is the difference between erotica, porn and smut. Well, I'd say the main difference is the audience. Here's my overly simplified definition. Erotica is female sex, porn is sex aimed at men, and smut, well, that is male sex that some might say is overly inappropriate. Notice that I did not use the typical word “dirty” in any of those definitions. Be sure and review my “dirty blog” to understand why.

So erotica would be a young woman goes to this rich man's house to interview him for a story and her heart nearly bursts when she meets him, instantly falling for him although she had previously sworn off relationships. He takes her to bed and he worships her body, caressing her gently while exciting her more until he slowly brings her to the most intense orgasm in her life. In porn, when the male takes her to bed he reveals his enormous schlong to her surprise and enjoyment and takes her with wild, savage thrusts until they fall exhausted to sleep. In smut, after the previous wild love session the man falls asleep, so she ties him to the bed and pegs him unmercifully and then rides his face for an hour before calling her lesbian friend to come over and enjoy her new found sex slave.

Well, of course, all of the above examples would have more description to play out each scene and to entice the reader to look for more by said author so they could be stimulated again on the next reading adventure. I also tamed it down so that the censors would not flag my blog and banish me to some sexless environment.

Someplace like writing blurbs for the DMV.

So which of the examples stimulated you the most? Or more likely, which one would you actually read. My guess it's based on the target audience. But who knows? There's always some crossover.

 

Ahhh, James Thurber

The Thurber Brigade apologizes if you found this blog too stimulating and steamy. We decided to go down this slippery road because, well, we like sex. Plus, there may have been some mumblings about too many political blogs and not enough about the core idea of "The War Between Men and Women" (relationships). So we thrust forward and pounded the subject to maybe tie some people back to the blog. We'll calm down next time.

The Wilmington 10 Incident

During my time in the 82nd Airborne I had a number of wild adventures and experiences. However, one incident that I thought minor when it began, became a big learning experience. It involved a protest rally for The Wilmington 10.

A guy I was working with to try and bring about an enlisted person union (mentioned in a previous blog) asked me one time to go to this protest rally. At the time, I didn't know anything about The Wilmington 10. So, he filled me in.

I took this in 1976, not that long ago

They were these 10 high school kids (nine boys, one girl) who made the “mistake” of being outspoken advocates for civil rights while being black in North Carolina in 1971. Oh, the Klan didn't parade openly in the state anymore, but their racism and violence permeated the state nonetheless. 

Basically, what happened to these kids was that they got arrested for an arson of a local store. At the time of the arson they were in a meeting about how to train for civil rights advocacy. That didn’t matter as the prosecution got three people to accuse them. Turns out later we learned that one of the witnesses was given a mini bike to get him to testify. Plus, later all three recanted their testimony. That came much later after the 10 had served years of their 29-year sentence.

The protest I was going to take part in was in 1976 or 1977 when people were trying to get them freed. President Jimmy Carter was coming to Fayetteville where I was stationed. As my Army buddy Rick and the guy who got me involved (I think his name was Mike, but can't be sure) we’re driving to the protest, he told me he slightly felt bad about this because the reason Carter was coming to town was to attend a wedding of some relative. We needed to try to get attention to the cause though, so this seemed the best way.

The protest was pretty big and vocal. We had tons of signs and banners that were pre-made and we waved them vigorously. We were kept on the sidewalk across from the church by a number of police officers, but they didn’t have but a few barricades. They didn't really need more as we weren't unruly, just loud. 

As we stood there, one policeman walked brazenly down the line of protestors taking our pictures. No doubt to go into some file labeled “commie, pinko agitators” stuck in a file cabinet at HQ. 

One exciting thing about the protest was that I got to see Jimmy Carter's arm. He waved at us through an open window of the limo, apparently realizing we weren't dangerous enough to keep the bullet proof window up.

Another exciting thing was that I spotted a lieutenant from my company hanging out behind the crowd. He was the only black officer in the company (maybe battalion) so I guessed the Army thought he might be better able to fit in. I nudged my buddy Rick and pointed out the LT, so we turned, smiled broadly, and waved at him shouting “Hi LT!” He looked sheepishly at us, waved faintly, then tried to move away. Yeah, we had a good laugh.

This was one of the big lessons I got from this though. I had suspected the Army was spying on me because of my GI right’s advocacy and this proved it. It didn't stop me from doing it, but it did make me a little more nervous.

Rick and Jay at Wilmington 10 protest

The protest didn’t get Jimmy Carter to do anything about The Wilmington 10, but it did give the cause publicity. We made the front page of the paper the next day. Lo and behold, Rick and I had our picture on the story. I thought it was cool, but doubt the Army felt the same way.

 

I will say this positive thing about the Army, they didn't overreact. I think they (or their lawyers) knew that I was protected by the First Amendment as the protest was off base and on my own time and of course, I wore “civies.”

This was the other thing the incident taught me: the media and the police work together. Oh, I doubt it's all the time and a lot has changed from the 70s, but I'm sure it still happens from time to time. You see, there were no other photographers at the protest who could have taken the picture that was in the paper. It was straight on and really close.

Although we didn’t get the result we wanted from the protest I'm sure the publicity helped emboldened others to also take on the cause. Plus, several big organizations eventually got involved (we can't take credit for that) like the ACLU and Amnesty International. Eventually, the kids were released from prison early. For some of them, it took up to 10 years, so it's sad they paid such a big price, even though innocent. After much effort and time, they were eventually pardoned. 

I still often think about that minor incident. Sadly, I don't think the US has changed that much. I mean, just look at all the people gunned down by police for the crime of being black in a racist nation. Yeah, I've blogged about that, a lot, and probably will continue. Now you know about my first experience with government secrecy (the LT spying) and why although I support the media and see them as the Fourth Estate who play an important part in helping us keep an eye on our government, I also know to be cautious about their intentions. 

Ahhh, James Thurber

Bizarro World Politics

Dateline Portland, Oregon—Today marks the 60th political rally for President Bernie Clinton. Many pundits have chastised him for spending the other 10 days he's been in office in his bowling alley in Florida, but his staffers have assured the media that the majority of his time is spent in Executive Time. Executive Time has not been explained, but many believe he spends it listening to “Prairie Home Companion” on the radio.

As usual, the president began his rally by attacking his former opponent, Donald McConnell, who mysteriously disappeared from the planet after the election.  This hasn't seemed to bother or dissuade the president from his attacks.

“Dastardly Donnie should be held accountable for his use of an illegal Facebook account. Yet the FBI refuses to take action,” Clinton declared at his rally.

“Fire him up!  Fire him up!” He zealous supporters chanted.

“The totally balanced Mole News network nit picks every minute detail of my life and gives people the impression that I am unstable.  They are completely distorted in their microscopic reports!” Clinton charged.

“Distorted news! “Distorted News,” his adherents vocalized.

Earlier in the day a fire engulfed a bank that only allowed millionaires to utilize their services. The suspected arsonist was apprehended shortly afterwards and investigators discovered he was a  rabid adherent to President BC's ideology. His electric car was plastered with pro-BC bumper stickers. Asked about it at a news conference the president stated that he did not condone fire, but also said that the use of water from McConnell's followers was equally bad.

Who's Tom Tomorrow?

 

Many critics of the president have stated they believe that his inflammatory rhetoric at his political rallies incited people to use fire recklessly. When grilled about his fire euphemisms at rallies, he stated that the media needed to focus on real news and also said he believed that their reporting was what caused rampant arsonism.

The president plans several more rallies before next week's election, and will include the famous Soros Brothers Fire twirlers as well as the Pelosi Flame magicians.  



 

 Ahhh, James Thurber

The Thurber Brigade once again apologizes for this side step into bizarro politics, but considering the recent violent events that have inflamed the nation, decided the only recourse was a little sarcasm and satire. We promise to get back to The War Between Men and Women (relationships) next time. Maybe.
 

No Tweets

As much as Trump criticizes the press, there's no doubt that they made him what he is.  They made him president.

He spent very little money during primary season. The reason: the mainstream news gave him 24/7 coverage.  I remember working out at the gym in front of a bank of TVs and all the news channels were waiting breathlessly as his plane pulled up to some rally. It didn’t seem to matter that he was last in the polls and no one thought much of him as a candidate, they still gave him unprecedented coverage.

I don’t remember any previous election in which a person got so much free attention. As he got more coverage, his name became better known with voters and he garnered more attention. This helped move him up against a big bunch of other pols who didn’t get anywhere near the coverage. We now live with the end result of this unrelenting coverage.

And the media continues this assault on viewers mental faculties by endlessly reporting on his tweets.  It doesn't matter that they are inane, have many misspellings or defame someone, the media happily reports them as if they were bona fide news.

They are not. 

They are also not official policy.

They are not legal documents nor government announcements.

However, they are often inflammatory. They more often than not are lies.  They also are misogynistic and racist on many occasions. They give him an outlet to make outrageous statements.  They allow him to blow off steam in a public manner. They provide him another avenue to disparage the very media who report on the tweets. And worse of all, these tweets promote him but not policy.

So the media need to stop covering these tweets.  Don't mention them, allude to them, nor give them any coverage at all. 

Oh sure, the Republican news network, also called Fox News, would still report them, but that network broadcasts to his hardcore followers anyway.  People who want real news filled with facts do not watch the American version of Pravda.

If the media stopped covering these infantile musings they might actually force him to begin to make official statements like normal presidents have in the past.  He might have to actually hold news conferences in which it would be harder (but not impossible) for him to get away with untruths.

A bigger incentive might be to not give him an outlet to blast the media that he criticizes but desperately craves.  Don't give in to his addiction for attention.

It would be a start.  A start for maybe getting him to behave like an adult, er, President.

The next logical step would be to stop covering his pep rallies disguised as campaign events. He's going to attack the press while there anyway, why cover it?  He always says the same things.  So just send an intern to listen to see if he says anything new, and if he does, don't roll the tape, just briefly mention it. 

There is no reason to keep giving him all this free publicity when he's not saying anything of importance.

So media, stop feeding this narcissistic man's ego and giving him free PR.  The majority of Americans (remember, he lost the popular vote by the largest margin of anyone who claimed the White House) will thank you for the silence.

The Thurber Brigade once again apologizes for taking another sidestep and straying from the ongoing War Between Men and Women (relationships). However, this incessant tweeting by The Orange One and the media coverage has driven us crazy.  So although the concept of the news media ignoring him is not new, we hope that if enough voices complain, maybe we'll stop getting deluged by this crazy and useless bilge emanating from the guy. Sadly, we also know that the media loves attention just as much as him. Sigh. 

 

The Facebook Rule of two (2)

A Thurber Brigade Social Media Sidestep

Years ago I sat at a table with some friends in a shopping mall. We asked shoppers to sign a petition (the details don't matter to this point). A man came up and began arguing vehemently with us against our cause. I say us, but in reality, only I engaged with the man. My friends just sat quietly.  After the man left I asked why they didn't join me, after all they had recruited me for this endeavor so it really was their cause.

"There are certain people who will never change their minds, no matter the facts or figures," one answered. "There is no reason to argue with them and better in the long run to just leave them to their beliefs. You'll appear more tolerant and they will just seem bitter to observers."

So when I get in arguments, I attempt to adhere to this concept. I'll argue to a point, but then just try to change the conversation. After a few points it will become obvious that it may not be worth going further.

So I recommend that in Facebook arguments—not personal comments or lists—that there be The Facebook Rule of Two (FB2):

• You may only reply twice to a topic.
• You may only have two paragraphs per reply.
• A paragraph may only be two sentences. (Watch those run-on sentences)

For example, let's say that someone posts a meme that states American mass-produced beer (i.e. Bud) is the best.  You reply that it sucks because they skimp on ingredients. The other guy points out how cool the bottles are for the brand. So you only have one more chance to tell the guy with no taste buds that Brewers should spend more money on ingredients rather than advertising. No matter if he keeps posting some comment on how the girls in the ads are hot or some other drivel, that's it.

It might also be good to have some way to respond to the guy with no taste that you have seen his comment(s), but it can't be a word/sentence reply. Maybe someone will come up with an emoji for the situation or maybe you could just type the number 2 (or FB2), indicating you are a Rule of Two adherent.

Think of the Facebook Rule of Two to be a way to make Facebook more civil and help us all to become more tolerant of others. No matter the beer they drink.

The Thurber Brigade almost decided this shouldn't be a sidestep because social media has such a strong influence on relationships these days. However, since we haven't dipped into the social media realm before we thought, "oh, well." 

(Okay, okay, the cause I was working for that I mentioned above was that enlisted people in the military needed a union. Hey, Rule of Two buddy!)

What if?

What if the Main Stream Media (MSM) reported police deaths similar to when a civilian gets shot by police?

AUSTIN—A civilian shot and killed a police officer today after a brief encounter near his house.  John Doe had been walking on Main Street when suddenly a policeman grabbed his arm and began yelling at him. Doe attempted to talk calmly to the police officer, but the policeman quickly pulled out a gun and pointed it at Doe.  Doe then pulled out his own service revolver and shot the incoherent policeman.

 John Doe               Officer Mack Johnson

The policeman, identified as Officer Mack Johnson, had been reprimanded a number of times by his boss and had on his record several past domestic disputes with his wife.  It is also reported that he walked a number of meal tickets at local restaurants and had been seen numerous times hanging around a local high school near a large group of young girls.

Several neighbors tried to console Doe after the shooting and eventually called EMS to aid Officer Johnson who died on the way to the hospital.

Social media has been livid about the incident.  Numerous popular organizations tweeted their support of Doe:

Doe, married and the father of three children works at the Good Samaritan cafeteria. Workers describe him as a friendly, caring man with an impeccable work history.

Ruth Bender witnessed the shooting.  "The man (Doe) was just walking along minding his business and this police officer ran up and began babbling obscenities at him.  Next thing I know the cop had a gun out and was waving it around wildly.  I feared for my life, but luckily the other man also had a gun and defended himself and the neighborhood. Who knows whether any kids could have been hurt if he had not acted?"

The police department expressed its concern about the confrontation and Doe's uncle, Bradly Doe, promised to launch an investigation into the incident and assures the public he will report the findings in a timely, transparent manner. After a preliminary inspection of Officer Johnson's house, Bradly Doe stated he found numerous large caliber weapons, vests, military and gun publications as well as materials that could be used to manufacture explosive devices (fertilizer, bleach).

John Doe has been temporarily suspended by the Samaritan and will take a paid vacation until the investigation is completed.

The Thurber Brigade again regrets getting off-track by presenting another sidestep (and believe it or not, there might be one more coming up). However, this is getting ridiculous. Over 550 civilians have been killed by police so far this year (http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2015/jun/01/the-counted-police-killings-us-database#)  In the UK, only 55 civilians have been killed in 25 years!  Something has to be done. I've written a few articles about reform (http://hubpages.com/politics/Police-ReformPart-II) and until there is reform, there will be more eye-for-eye incidents and more people killed. I can't change anything because I am not a government official, but at least I can say something and maybe one day, enough other people will say something and those in power will do something. Plus, there has to be balance in news reporting.  These days the media doesn't help because they present such a biased view of the victim.  So don't just sit there and say there's nothing you can do. Say something. It's a start.

Sexism vs. Sexuality

Okay, okay, I admit that I cheated on the last blog. I had only a sketchy idea on what to talk about, so decided to stall by writing a blog advertising SEX and the AMERICAN MALE (still just $2; oops, sorry) by not so cleverly talking all about SEX. Well, the current presidential election caught my attention because it basically alludes to something I've mentioned before. Too many people don't know the difference between sexism and sexuality.

Of course, there's the easy route. You could be like the Angry Feminists who hate this blog and state that anything that they don't like that is uttered by a male is proof that the guy is a sexist pig. I get this thrown at me a lot, for example after I pointed out how women are afraid to make first contact or the time I talked about things that women seem to get away with but men can't. It doesn't matter that women admit they won't ever make the first move nor that men dare not enter a biker bar in shorts. I must therefore be a sexist pig.


 


However, Merriam-Webster defines sexism as prejudice or discrimination based on sex; especially :  discrimination against women.

Based on that definition, my blogs don't make me a sexist pig because I'm not discriminating against women, I'm just saying something unflattering that many don't like. Is it discrimination? Is it prejudice? No, it's just snarky comments that females don't appreciate.

On the other hand, Donald Trump is a sexist pig because he believes women are just eye candy. It's to the point where he makes appearance a battle between good vs. evil. If a woman is hot, she's useful to him, if plain well, she's useless.

Now, I could repeat some of Trump's quotes (Trumpisms?) to make the point, but I figure since the news media reports on him every single day as the top news story there isn't much need. Don't believe me? Well, did you hear about the suicide bomber in Russia that happened about a week ago? The near civil war going on in Azerbaijan? That rebels shot down two jets in Syria? Of course not! You had to get your daily quota of Trumpisms by the daily news.

Another definition by M-W says it's behavior, conditions, or attitudes that foster stereotypes of social roles based on sex. Again, this doesn't include me (unless you're an Angry Fem who wants to stretch and distort my words) because I'm not fostering stereotypes, I'm commenting on female actions.

Of course, the main-stream press also comments relentlessly on The Donald, so you may have missed news about how the policeman who killed an unarmed man is getting probation—but no jail time. If a civilian did the same, he'd be getting the chair.  But you didn't hear about this abuse of justice because the news people wanted you to know about Ted Cruz' wife.

So if I were to say women couldn't be lawyers because they don't make first contact, then you could call me sexist. However, I didn't do that. I instead inferred that they were cowards. So you could call me rude, but not sexist.

You might also call Republicans sexist because they always pass laws to restrict health choices of women, but never of men. You most likely don't know about this though, especially that it almost always is done by older white men without a single woman's input. You didn't hear about this due to all the coverage of Hillary's refusal to release a transcript of a speech which the Main Stream Media (MSM) deemed more exciting.

Many other Angry Feminists declare I'm objectifying women by constantly posting pictures of scantily-clad females. As I've also stated in a previous blog, this is more of a sex fiend trend than a sexist pig one. Does a guy who looks at a woman and dreams of wild, kinky sex with her imply that she is incapable of fulfilling any other role in society? Okay, it is possible that some men view women that way, but unlikely that it's a majority. Most men work alongside women they believe are competent and capable people, who just so happen also would be fun to have a carnal escaped with.

Now Donald Trump marrying one hot model after another might be considered objectifying women. Of course, you may not have noticed this behavior because the MSM has been spending it's time talking about how right-wing evangelicals have fallen in lock-step behind Trump because they believe that although he doesn't show signs of Christian-like behavior, he has to be better than that pagan, Satan-worshipping Hillary.

The only conclusion you can draw from all this is that those Angry Feminists, who may tar and feather me next week, don't know the difference between sexism and sexuality. They are so outraged by pictures of semi-nude women that they will likely pass out in the voting booth and accidentally put a check by Donald's name because they were so pissed off that I appreciate beauty and enjoy sex. Of course, the MSM wouldn't report on this turn of events because they just heard that Trump might be going to a debate. Or maybe not. They'll be there just in case. And of course while they are there patiently waiting for The Donald, they won't be mentioning how Republicans in congress overwhelmingly voted to NOT give aid to children in Flint, Michigan who have been poisoned by water deemed safe by the GOP governor.

So as you can see by all of this discussion, this blog is not sexist but blatantly sexual. I hope you will check back for the next blog when we—NEWS FLASH: we interrupt this blog to report that Donald Trump's plane just landed in New York! We repeat, Donald has landed—we're sure it will really get those Angry Fems in a bloody rage!

(The Thurber Brigade just learned that those Angry Feminists hacked into our computers! They read our pre-edited version and have publicly declared their anger that not only do we relentlessly point our finger at them in disdain, but also how they believe this blog is really another notorious political sidestep into how the MSM is failing in their job of reporting news and instead pandering to ratings by reporting about sensational nothingness. Ummm, well, maybe.)

This cartoon has absolutely nothing to do with the above blog. We at The Brigade just like James Thurber and decided that with all the pictures of Trump we needed to add something that might soothe the soul a bit. Ahhh, James Thurber.