Month: August 2005

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Posted on By thomas

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Jim Carrey
I used my eBucks to buy Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind DVD which is my favourite Jim Carrey movie next to Truman Show. I loved it when it was in cinema’s last year and I’ve been dying to complete my collection of Jim’s movies. This is an amazingly funny movie and Kate Winslet is wild and crazy – almost being the way you would expect Jim to be. She has crazy hair colours and does weird things while Jim is all meek and introverted. She reminds me of a Gemini I once dated and we had so much fun, never took things to seriously. And yes now I can see that maybe opposites can compliment each other. I wonder what the link is between them, what is the one thing they do have in common.

And before I forget the name is from a famous poem by Alexander Pope, a contemporary of Isaac Newton and one of the greatest poets in English literature, Eloisa to Abelard.

 

The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature by Matt Ridley

Posted on By thomas


Why do we have sex? One of the main biological reasons, contends Ridley, is to combat disease. By constantly combining and recombining genes every generation, people “keep their genes one step ahead of their parasites,” thereby strengthening resistance to bacteria and viruses that cause deadly diseases or epidemics.

– Constance Rinaldo, Dartmouth Coll., Hanover, N.H.

Called the “Red Queen Theory” by biologists after the chess piece in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass which runs but stays in the same place, this hypothesis is just one of the controversial ideas put forth in this witty, elegantly written inquiry. Ridley, a London-based science writer and a former editor of the Economist , argues that men are polygamous for the obvious reason that whichever gender has to spend the most time and energy creating and rearing offspring tends to avoid extra mating. Women, though far less interested in multiple partners, will commit adultery if stuck with a mediocre mate. In Ridley’s not wholly convincing conclusion, even human intellect is chalked up to sex: virtuosity, individuality, inventiveness and related traits are what make people sexually attractive.

From Library Journal This is a fascinating book filled with lucid prose and seductive reasoning. Freelance science writer Ridley reaches into the literature of genetics; molecular, theoretical and evolutionary biology; ecology; sociology; and anthropology to weave an extraordinary tale of the evolution of human nature, beginning with the evolution of sex. Using Lewis Carroll‘s Red Queen (who runs as fast as she can to stay in the same place) as a metaphor for evolution, Ridley shows how sex was the result of an evolutionary arms race between hosts and their disease-causing parasites. Ridley covers so much ground that transitions may be abrupt or unclear, particularly in the last two chapters; also, his review of human homosexuality is thin. His occasionally pompous style (including his immediate dismissal of those who do not believe in evolution) may offend some readers. However, Ridley clearly explains many complex and remarkable concepts for a wide audience. Highly recommended.

 

2005 Online Dating survey explores Sexual Behaviour of South Africans

Posted on By thomas

The 2005 Online Dating Survey which launches today explores how the Internet is changing the sexual behaviour of South Africans. NETucation, the company behind the online dating research is the leading BEE Internet research company and studies the behaviour of South Africans using the Internet.

“Now that we understand the basics of how and why South Africans use the Internet to find potential partners it is important to dig deeper to understand the outcomes of online dating,” says Ramon Thomas, Managing Director of NETucation. “Last year we estimated the total online dating population to be approximately 250,000 which represents about 7% of the total internet population of 3.6 million.”

NETucation continued to track the amount of online dating services which has exploded and now totals 25 up from the 10 found in 2004. The privacy of respondents is protected because the 33 question survey is anonymous. Prizes have been lined up as an incentive to those who complete the online dating survey. First prize is an Apple iPod Shuffle, five subscriptions to Cosmopolitan by Associated Magazines and five subscriptions to Men’s Health magazines by Touchline Media. The major South African providers of online dating services, namely DatingBuzz, Couples, Galaxy Singles, Lovemail, SexyIntro and many others are all participating in this research project.

“Connecting with people. Meeting people that you have an instant connection with can be difficult. And even if you like the person you have met there is no guarantee that you will be sexually compatible with them,” says Dr Elna McIntosh, clinical sexologist and resident expert on M-Net’s SEX etc with Mark Pilgrim. “Cyber-sex allows us to get a birds-eye view into a potential partners sexual make-up. To see if you are actually thinking of the same types of fantasies we are. It tests whether there is sexual chemistry before you even touch them.”

The findings will be published in September 2005, and will emphasise the following:
* how many meaningful relations have developed from online dating
* how the Internet is changing the sexual behaviour of people
* the growth of total number of people using online dating
* the growth in number of providers of online dating services

The survey closes on 28 August 2005. Click here to complete the 2005 Online Dating Survey.
MEDIA CONTACTS

* Ramon Thomas, Managing Director, NETucation Internet Research

* Dr Elna McIntosh, Clinical Sexologist Tel. 011-787-1222 or disa@icon.co.za