Phaedrus

One of the albums that really made an impression on me in my younger days. I *really* associate this with a particular time and group of friends.

As has been said already, this is for the ladies to announce (or not, as they choose). However, I'd suggest you go and look at their ads, which will give you a good idea of what to expect. Just one thing to say: independent ladies will generally quote a price, and that's what you pay. Spas generally have two payments; a door fee (which all goes to the spa, and is usually advertised on the spa's website) and then something for the MA you see (you'll have to ask her how much), but it works out roughly the same.

Well... research, kinda. I don't actually make a point of going out and *doing* any research, but sometimes ladies will catch my attention for some reason (be it pics or posts or recos) and will then go on my "I'd like to meet" list. And then when I feel like meeting someone new, I'll pick someone from that list. And then, of course, there's the inevitable dilemma of whether to see someone new, or go back to someone you already like... but that's another thread.

*sigh*... missed it! Hope you had a fantastic birthday, Emma!

These guys filled an ant colony with cement, let it set, and then dug away the soil so they could see how big it was and how it was built. It's impressive.

Call be a miserable bastard if you like, but Valentine's Day really annoys the hell out of me. If I choose to be romantic, or just tell someone how much I love them, I'll do that; I resent being expected to save these things up for a particular day. And I can't shake the feeling that the real point of it is so that Hallmark can sell you pink things with hearts on, and have something to put on their shelves between Christmas and Easter.

Congrats, RG! But we're going to have to kill those song threads too keep you under control... :)

Well, if we're going that way... Therapy? - Unbeliever

And on that note, here's another accurate-but-uncharitable song about organized religion. Motorhead: Orgasmatron http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpqPR2Tv5Sc

Bonus tumblr here (mostly boobies and tattoos). Warning: seriously annoying music, but at least it has a volume control.

With darkness, you get.... awesomeness! The Darkness: Get Your Hands Off My Woman (Motherfucker)

First up: welcome! Hope you have fun here! Look here if you haven't already - lots of good stuff on acronyms, etc - and a lot more on things you'll need to know but may not yet know you need to know, so it's worth a read. Urban Dictionary is also a good source for anything you can't immediately find here. Yes, you're right: there are way too many good looking ladies. Alas, this doesn't change... in fact it gets worse, because after you've seen some there will not only be ladies more you want to see, but some ladies you want to go back to :) In terms of recos - it really depends what you're looking for. Independent, or are you OK visiting a spa? Tattoos/piercings, or not? Older, younger, or in between? Central, east, west, south, over the river? There's just too many good choices to recommend only one or two....

A belated Happy Birthday to you, my friend. I hope it was filled with an appropriate volume of boobies.... and since you like itty bitty ones, that must have meant there were lots of them :)

So, normally "WTF, Japan" is uttered in response to something utterly off the wall, involving robots or tentacles or schoolgirls or - if you're lucky - all three. But reading this just makes me.... sad. Get with it, Japan. We need more sex with robot schoolgirls with tentacles. [URL]http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2011/01/13/no-sex-please-were-young-japanese-men/[/URL] Whether theyâ??re too busy lining up for new Apple Inc. gadgets, reading questionable manga or watching videos of pop group AKB48, it seems Japanâ??s male youth is increasingly united on one thing â?? a lack of interest in real-life sex. At least according to a study published Thursday by the Japan Family Planning Association, that is. In the latest survey of attitudes to sex conducted September 2010 by the agency, part of the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, fully 36% of males aged 16 to 19 surveyed described themselves as â??indifferent or averseâ? towards having sex. Thatâ??s a near 19% increase since the survey was last conducted in 2008. As if that werenâ??t enough of a red flag for a country plagued by a low birthrate and an ageing, shrinking population, women seem to be even more reluctant to consider having sex. While no one is suggesting people of that age group should automatically be procreating, a whopping 59% of female respondents aged 16 to 19 said they were uninterested in or averse to sex, a near 12% increase since 2008. Still, perhaps the reported interest levels in the younger group should be taken with a grain of salt, and as something subject to radical change as younger generations grow up. The new survey also showed that the only group that seemed to feel a greater attraction to the idea of sex in the last two years was men aged 30 to 34, with just 5.8% of respondents disinterested, as opposed to 8.3% in 2008. Nonetheless, the speed of change between the 2008 and 2010 findings do give pause for thought. â??A comparison of the 2008 and 2010 findings show that men indeed have become â??herbivores,â??â? commented Mr. Kunio Kitamura, head of the Japan Family Planning Association. â??Herbivore menâ? is a term that gained increasing currency in Japan in 2010, describing young men who are passive and less ambitious in their romantic relationships with women than previous generations. Speaking on NHK, Japanâ??s national public broadcasting organization, Mr. Kunio explained, â??The findings seem to reflect the increasing shallowness of human relations in todayâ??s busy society.â? The study, which surveyed 1,301 people aged 16 to 49, also provided a glimpse of sexual behavior amongst married couples. It found that approximately 40% of married respondents had not had sex in the past month, a 4% increase from the same survey conducted two years earlier and nearly 10% higher than in 2004. The 330 married respondents cited â??vague reluctance after child birth,â? â??canâ??t be bothered,â? and â??fatigue from workâ? as the top three reasons for not being proactive about having sex.

Fashionable interlude: you know it's fashionable because it's on a catwalk. h/t.

Isn't that Bluesfest every year? :)

Happy birthday!

*AHEM*. Don't forget Lany, who also merits your attention...

In terms of our society and culture, perhaps. But bear in mind that this is the Oldest Profession we're talking about; neither you nor I nor Richard Gere was the first to discover these things.

So, to reply to several people... My preference is to give myself a day or two to reflect on things and digest the experience. But that's just a personal preference... I'm afraid I disagree about this; I write recos (or don't) on the balance of the whole encounter. What I will say, however, is that if I decide not to write a reco I'll definitely have some good reason why I didn't that I could submit as justification to some imaginary arbiter of these things (or, more relevantly, to the lady in question, if she were to ask). What I find really difficult to make decisions about are the encounters were nothing was really wrong, but the chemistry just wasn't there. These ones aren't really all that awesome as there's no chemistry, but... that doesn't mean anyone did anything wrong. And so is it fair to withhold a reco under these circumstances? I tend to think not; the fact that I didn't have much chemistry with a particular lady doesn't mean she won't turn out to be the next guy's ATF, and it'd be a shame if he never found her just because nobody had written a reco. Because anyone else who goes to see her won't get selected bits of the experience; they'll get the whole thing, just like you did. And so it seems appropriate to base your decision to write a reco - or not - on the entirety of the encounter, rather than cherry-picked bits. If the world's best SP had her incall in a sewer, anyone who reads a reco saying she's the world's best SP will *still* end up visiting the sewer, and they might not like that :) No. A reco is still a reco. There is no obligation to write one if you don't want to. What seems negative here is silence... To answer your question: Yes. Untrue. There are many reasons why a lady may not have a lot of recos. Younger SPs seem to generate more than older ones; spinners generate more than BBWs. I think both of these have less to do with the quality of service the ladies provide, and more to do with us insecure guys fearing to be judged on who we spend time with. It'd be nice to think we'd all grown out of that, but the traumas we may have suffered at the hands of our 'friends' in our teenage years may be tough to shift... SPs tend to generate more recos when they first appear on the scene. A new and exciting arrival will get a lot of recos as people meet her for the first time; after a while, they'll tend to drop off. If she's getting more satisfied customers coming back then that leaves less room for new ones; and we're all less likely to write a reco for someone when we've previously done so. There are many well-established ladies around here who hardly ever get recos these days; I can tell you, from personal experience, that it's not because they've suddenly become bad at what they do. Finally, bear in mind the simple fact that, all things being equal, someone who sees a few people a day will have more recos that someone who sees a few people per week. To sum up: it's not a level playing field, and shouldn't be treated as such. I hear what you say... but I don't agree with it. First up, what's your top 30% (or whatever fraction you choose)? Speaking personally, mine changes depending on what mood I'm in; sometimes I want a blonde, sometimes a brunette or a redhead. Today I may want a quickie with the best-looking girl I can find; tomorrow I may prefer a prolonged evening of the best conversation I can get. The point is that the criteria I might use to rate people are hugely inconsistent, and therefore objectively worthless. And that's before you begin to consider that my preferences probably aren't the same as yours. Even if you were completely consistent... why should a lady who provides good service be penalized because someone else was very slightly better? For me, it's not about competition: it's more akin to taking your driving test. If you're good enough, you pass, and it doesn't matter how many or few other people may have passed already this week/month/year. Varied, certainly. I don't know about reliable. I'm no expert on this, but AFAIK other boards have issues with unscrupulous ladies acquiring shill reviews for themselves and equally false bad reviews for their competitors. Yep. Absolutely. I'm not going to sit here and make judgements about which style of board is objectively "better". This really comes down to the kind of info you want to see and the kind of environment you want to be in. At the end of the day, multiple boards exist with multiple moderation policies and cultures; we can all vote with our (virtual) feet. And we do.