Third Base Ain't What It Used to Be

Getting Prepped for Valentine's Day

It's been a long time since I have blogged. I have been writing everywhere else, but sadly my blog has been suffering due to my lack of time. No longer. I am committed to writing. And these days I am even more committed to speaking - about dating, sex, love, parenting, pregnancy, all of it. In fact, I have some pretty cool gigs coming up. I mean, it is the Valentine's Day season, and that just seems to be a good time for those of us in the sex and relationship biz.

In fact, Valentine's Day is going to be a bit crazy. I will be at Yale for their annual Sex Week. Yes, Yale has a Sex Week, and a pretty impressive one at that. On Tuesday I will be speaking about "The Female Orgasm" and Thursday evening (yes I will be there for Valentine's night) the "Chemistry of Love". I will also be speaking at a special Mom's Luncheon for Divalysscious Moms, and talking about Valentine's Day Expectations on The Today Show that morning. But for now (at least for the end of this week), I will be diligently working on all of the things on my to-do list.

And last, if you want to see my tips for "Spicing Up Your Relationship", check out Woman's Day. And in case you wanted to see another Third Base... book review, here it is by Tracee Sioux at So Sioux Me.

Did You Hear the One About the Candidate...

who said that abortions were "like a holocaust"?

who encouraged the early release of a convicted rapist who then went on the rape and murder again?

Guess who it is? Mike Huckabee. The same man who is also against same-sex marriage (big surprise there) and comprehensive sexuality education. (Somehow I don't think that this is the candidate for me - cue the shock and awe.)

Here's the thing. I believe that everyone is entitled to have their religious values. However, religion and theology cannot dictate our politics. It is dangerous and unfair to the rest of the country who may not embrace the same faith.

Meanwhile, back on the book tour, Alex Elliot over at Formula Fed and Flexible Parenting has a review of Third Base... and an interview with me. Check it out!

News for November

Sorry I have been out of touch, so to speak. Between work and the holidays, I have been running a bit behind. Not that there hasn't been a wealth of items to talk about:

1. Prude: How the Sex Obsessed Culture Damages Girls - the frightening book by Carol Platt Liebau which was brought to my attention by Rachel Kramer Bussel

2. Another scathing review of abstinence only programs in this country; This time, brought to you by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.

3. New hypocrisy related gossip: What does Trent Lott's retirement have to do with Hustler magazine?

And for fun, some new Third Base Ain't What it Used to Be press:

Check out VickyandJen for their podcast with me - chock full of parenting tips!

and The Chicago Tribune's feature 5 Things I Learned From....

For some fun videos, check out the Relationship 101 segments from The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet : Relationship Survival Durings the Holidays and Secrets Your Shouldn't Keep (though if you ask my co-contributor, he thought that the title should me "Why Men Should Keep Secrets").

Vajajay? I Think Not.

If you read last week's New York Times article you know that our pop culture icons are talking about vaginas...or are they? No, they are talking about vajajays and if you know anything about me, you know that I don't like it one bit. In fact, as soon as I read the article I started my Letter to the Editor campaign, which I am pleased to say, has resulted in my first published Letter.

Not that this should be a surprise, but I am completely dismayed by the idea that we have to have a more "palatable" term for vagina (and BTW, most of the time that word is really describing the vulva - so how confusing is that?). What message does that send to girls and women - are our parts so dirty that we have to use an alternative term for them? What do you think?

In more positive news, Denise over at Fast Times at Club Mom has posted a review of Third Base Ain't What it Used to Be, and has posed a great question to her readers. Check it out. What do you have to say?

A Little History Lesson...

After a super (yet seriously short) trip to San Francisco at the end of last week, I came back to see that Nancy over at The Centre for Emotional Wellbeing has reviewed my book. It's always nice to see what people in related fields have to say.

In the meantime, a reader, Inness, has asked me to talk about how I started my career in sexology and sexuality education. For those of you who already know, you can skip this part, but if you don't know, here is your chance to find out. When I was in high school, I was offered an opportunity to be part of a Peer HIV/AIDS Education pilot program at North Shore University Hospital. (With the support of my parents) I jumped at the chance. At the time, I had no idea that this experience would foreshadow my future. Needless to say, at the age of 15 I became incredibly comfortable talking about sexuality, more specifically safer sex. And when I went to college, I found myself providing the same types of information to my peers. I served as a member of FLASH, a sexual health education group on campus, wrote the anonymous sex advice column for the paper, and wrote articles about female sexuality for the campus women's magazine.

Though I had once assumed that I would be an investment banker or an attorney, it was clear that the field/industry for me was sexuality (education in particular). Once I realized that, everything was a bit easier. I matriculated into the Human Sexuality Education program at The University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education (most of the program is now being conducted at Widener University) and fell in love with what I was learning. And that is where it all began.

For those of you who may be looking to join the field, there are many resources out there.

And then there was another...

I have to say, I am so delighted by the wonderful feedback about the book. In fact, another review (and a wonderful at-home sex ed story) was posted today at The Dana Files. But while my book commentary has been super thus far, the comprehensive sexuality education movement has been faced with a new challenge - a new government sponsored PSA - which basically has children saying "Mom, Dad, talk to me and tell me to wait to have sex." Let me just say, I work with kids and teens, and that's definitely not what they are saying (nor is it what they need). Click here to view the horror that is the abstinence only campaign.

The Blog Tour Continues...

With more incredible reviews from wonderful writers. If you want to check out what they have to say (and there's a lot), check out BlogHer (Mir's post) and The Queen of Spain (where forget about the review - she relays an incredible story about her own sex ed teacher!) .

The Book Tour Has Begun

A year ago at last summer's BlogHer conference in San Jose, CA, I met a blogger by the name of Suzanne Reisman (CUSS and Other Rants and BlogHer). Needless to say, I was impressed by her work (and even more impressed by what she had to say in person). So I was beyond delighted when it turned out that she actually lived here in NYC. We have been keeping in touch, checking in on what one another has been up to (and BTW, I am not the only one with a book - hers is a travel guide about the strange and fabulous locales around NYC that you have never heard of), and when she said that she would like to interview me about Third Base... there was no way that I was going to say no. So if you want to check it out, go for it!

It's Been an Odd Day

I wake up to my son yelling, "Happy Book Day" - I mean, how cute is that?

And then, I get email from the authors of some awesome blogs, CUSS and Other Rants, Queen of Spain, Woulda Coulda Shoulda, Formula Fed and Flexible Parenting, to say that they will be reviewing Third Base... in the next few days. The Virtual Blog Tour is about to begin.

Now, as I sit here working, I find it hysterical to note that I have gotten a very poor review from someone on Amazon. Hysterical, simply because the book only came out today (in some stores, it hasn't even come out of their stock boxes) and this reader (who obviously read the entire book in the last five or so minutes) doesn't exactly like it. Not that everyone will, of course. I just found it funny.

Meanwhile, as for Third Base Virtual Book Tour, the first two dates are in:

Friday, October 5th - CUSS and Other Rants & Queen of Spain 

Saturday, October 6th - BlogHer (courtesy of Mir at Woulda Coulda Shoulda)