TresSugar

Baby's First Taste of Sour

GiggleSugar — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:00:00 -0700

These vids of babies tasting lemons never get old. You'd think Emma here was sampling a fine wine, the way she savors this tasting. She takes an initial nibble, inspects the slice, goes in for another taste, and then gnaws on it a bit. The verdict? Fast forward to 1:05. I think that pretty much speaks for itself.

Baby Is Pear-plexed!

GiggleSugar — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 02:00:00 -0800

Does baby like or not like? That is the question. This poor fella can't make sense of this pear concoction. Mom seems to think it's worth his while, but his taste buds are tingling, screaming, and wanting nothing to do with it. So he muscles through all the gagging and tries his darndest to enjoy the tang, but sheesh! Lemons and pears cannot be trusted.

You Can't Handle The Cute!

GiggleSugar — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 11:30:00 -0700

Babies, babies, and more babies. They make the funniest expressions when taste testing foods, but who knew a trip through a tunnel would elicit this kind of reaction? Never underestimate the trauma of the birth canal! You can practically hear this playing through this kid's head as the lights flash by...

Thanks, i am bored!

The Ultimate Baby Vs. Lemon Compilation

GiggleSugar — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 09:00:00 -0700

You'd have to be a serious sourpuss not to giggle during this one. We've seen a few of these taste-tasting tots before, but most are new (lemon fresh?) and equally as entertaining. My fave is the curly haired cutie in the beginning who throws down the lemon in disgust and then throws a diva tantrum. (What I want to know is, why is everyone feeding their babies lemons? Did I miss the news on the scurvy epidemic?!)

Baby Puckers Up

GiggleSugar — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 09:18:02 -0700

Yet another baby. Yet another lemon. And yet, I never tire of seeing these first-time reactions. (Thanks, College Humor!)

The Slow-Sex Movement: An Introduction

TresSugar — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:15:00 -0700

You may have heard of the slow-food movement that started in Italy to counteract the rise of fast food, promote locally grown produce, and encourage meals made and eaten with care. A similar movement is taking hold in the sexual arena: the slow-sex movement. It borrows ideas from many Eastern practices like Tantra and Buddhist mindfulness but with a modern twist.

No, the slow-sex movement doesn't advocate having sex very, very slowly (although that could be one method of engaging in it!). Rather, it seeks to remind people in a pornified world, where the pressure for an ideal body or the "right way" to have sex, has taken them away from the foundation of sex: connection (with your partner and your own body), intimacy, and pleasure. (Based on some of your responses to our recent posts on orgasms - sexual pleasure can be particularly difficult for women.)

I recently had the opportunity to sit down and talk to one of the most vibrant (and controversial) voices of the slow-sex movement - Nicole Daedone, who runs OneTaste, an urban retreat center in San Francisco. (There's also a branch in New York City.) At OneTaste, women and men can learn about mindful sexuality through classes, lectures, or living at the center. The New York Times describes it as a "co-ed live-in commune dedicated to the female orgasm." Residents engage in morning "OMing" sessions in which women - naked from the waist down - lie in curtained rooms while fully clothed men stroke them to orgasm.

These mindful sex "research partners" and their practices could be easily laughed at or dismissed, but put your preconceptions aside and read the series of interviews with Nicole I will post in the next few days. I can't wait to hear what you think of it all!

The How-To Lounge: Developing a Taste for Wine

DearSugar — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 09:35:00 -0700

Have you ever been put on the spot on a date, or at dinner with friends by the wine sommelier asking you what type of wine you fancy? Many people know what they like by taste, but aren't quite sure how to put their preferences into words, so here are some tips to help you refine and master your taste in wine.

Click here to read more

Wine is meant to be enjoyed, and everyone has different taste so don't get boggled down with the specifics
Start with what you know and like and branch out from there
There are 5 components to tasting wine: aroma, color, taste, body, and finish
The aroma can be the most revealing characteristic of the wine so pay close attention to its smell. Smell for fruit, spice, smoke, leather, oak, etc.
The color of the wine can give you clues on its age. White wine tends to gain color with age where as red wines loses color
When you taste your wine, swirl it around in your glass before sipping and roll the wine around in your mouth for a few seconds before swallowing. Taste for sweetness, acidity, tannin, fruit, alcohol and overall body
The body of the wine refers to the texture and weight, oftentimes compared to milk-- strange I know! Deciphering if you have a full body or medium body can be best described by whole milk, low fat milk, and skim milk, etc.
The finish of the wine refers to any lingering after notes you taste after swallowing. Often time the aftertaste, or finish, is extremely different from what you tasted originally
Always feel free to ask for assistance when you taste wine. Explain the flavors you enjoy or if you can't pinpoint what you are tasting, name off some bottles you often drink and enjoy
Taste as many different wines as you can in the same genre. Report back to your sommelier what you liked and didn't like so he or she can steer you in the right direction for your pallet
Like everything else, practice makes perfect so I suggest going to as many local free wine tasting events as you can to teach your pallet about new wines
Keep in mind that the best wines are not necessarily the most expensive, so don't be fooled

Learning about wine can be really fun, so enjoy yourself, keep an open mind, and have fun with it. Make sure you keep notes on the wines and flavors you like and don't like so you remember how to order next time, and most importantly, never drink and drive!

Source

Pillow Talk: Good Taste

DearSugar — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 06:01:00 -0700

Today concludes our posts about your 5 senses. Our tongue is equipped with over 10,000 taste buds, busy sending messages to our brains about things bitter, sweet, sour, or salty. Whether or not you like your meals spicy, food provides many opportunities to spice things up.

Click here to read more

Nutrition plays a big role when it comes to your romantic health. While some foods heighten arousal, others decrease sexual desire. Meats, fried foods, and rich, heavy sauces make you feel sluggish, not sassy. Processed foods and foods rich in salt and saturated fats make it more difficult for men to reach orgasm and can make fellas less interested in sex altogether. On the other hand, lean meats and veggies help energize your body and provide the enzymes and nutrients essential for a healthy sex life. Zinc and iodine support testosterone production in men and women, which is why oysters are aphrodisiacs. According to Discoveryhealth.com

Vitamins including A, the B group, C and E are necessary for sexual functioning. Vitamin E, for instance, supplies the sex organs with sufficient oxygen. B vitamins, including niacin and B-5, can help men and women reach orgasm and improve sexual stamina. Selenium, manganese and of course, zinc, are also vital in regulating hormones and revving up sex drive.

Good to know when you're planning your next romantic night in. Take advantage of the sensual qualities of your meal, too; share finger foods, experiment with exotic fruits and different wines. Don't forget the chocolate, as it contains phenylalanine, an amino acid that increases endorphin levels and can lift libido. Oh, and lose the napkins. Let those 10,000 taste buds work for you in more creative ways, too.

Source

Were You Ever Attracted to Bad Boys?

TresSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:00:15 -0800

With her rocker eyeliner, all-black wardrobe, and perfected eye roll, Gossip Girl's Jenny Humphrey isn't exactly fitting in with the prissy kids at her prep school. It's obvious that she needs a bad boy by her side, and on last night's episode that's just what she gets.

Jenny meets up with a Belgian diplomat's son, who happens to be drug pusher. She seems turned on or at least intrigued by his rebellious side and ends up helping him with some sales. Luckily, original bad boy Chuck Bass (they know his name even in Europe) is there to save Jenny from the dangers of drugs. But now that she's had a taste of the fast life, I suspect she'll be back for more, especially since she already has the wardrobe.

Although Jenny's appearance in the episode is otherwise pointless, it did remind us that sometimes we can be attracted to bad boys - even if it's completely stupid. Have you ever had a thing for troublemakers?

For more Gossip Girl coverage, check out FabSugar, BellaSugar, BuzzSugar, and CelebStyle.)

Photos courtesy of The CW

Slow Sex Movement Guru: What Do Men Want?

TresSugar — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:00:00 -0700

"The men who come to OneTaste are men who are so sick of having to pretend like they know what they’re doing."

This is the third in a four-part series of interviews I had with Nicole Daedone, who is emerging as the leader of the slow-sex movement and who founded the OneTaste urban retreat center in San Francisco. OneTaste invites men and women to learn about mindful sexuality by participating in workshops, yoga, and (for residents only) controversial "OMing" sessions in which men stroke women to orgasm during daily morning sessions. To read the third part of the interview with Nicole, read more.

TrèsSugar: Why do you think men come to OneTaste? Is it different from why women do?
Nicole Daedone: Everyone is coming to plug into the same thing. But there is a gender differentiation. My experience with most men is that they can sense that the kind of power that they have in our culture is a precarious thing. Because it’s not real, it’s not based on truth. It’s crumbling, right? We’re watching that everywhere, so most of the guys that I see who come in don’t really want to hold the power of sexuality. They don’t want to be the sole holders of this thing.

How we have sexuality set up at this point is a subject-object relationship and so it’s just inaccurate. Guys are thinking, “But I have power” and women are thinking, “But I’m the victim." We know that's not true; we want to find that right true relationship. The men who come to OneTaste are men who are so sick of having to pretend like they know what they’re doing.

TS: Regarding the OMing sessions, how does it help men to unload their sense of having to hold the power, as you put it, when they're touching women and bringing them to orgasm? I'm sure this is very misunderstood!
ND: The primary reason that it’s misunderstood is what I was talking about with the subject-object issue. If you look at it like something is operating on something, like “he is doing something to her,” you miss the point of what’s actually happening. It’s this amazing feedback loop, a kind of surrendering into a field of sexuality. Both people are plugging into something together and playing different roles in it.

TS: In tantric sex, there's an emphasis on eye contact. But in the article about OneTaste in the New York Times, the writer says there's a no eye contact rule. I think that could be misconstrued as something really anonymous and weird.
ND: There's actually no rule that you have to make eye contact. I’m saying, “Look, you don’t have to look into each other’s eyes.” I know that as a woman, I’ve done a lot more eye gazing than I was actually comfortable with and then what I’m doing is that I’m looking at him and wondering if I really look attractive. Then all of a sudden I’m contorting my face to make sure it looks attractive and then I’m no longer focusing on the sensation of no longer focusing on the attraction.

TS: There’s this idea that intimacy might only happen if you’re gazing into somebody’s eyes.
ND: I’ll have this experience with my boyfriend where my back will be to the door and I’ll feel him come into the room. That is such a subtle level of intimacy that we very often miss because we so rely on our visual sense. More what I’m saying is let’s take these things that we overly rely on and sometimes just be willing to not rely on those but not exclude them. I’m not interested in excluding anything, I’m interested in including more.

TS: For some women, male sexuality just feels toxic. I don't think it's inherently so, but perhaps becomes that way.
ND: I think that the reason it becomes toxic is because it doesn’t have counterbalance. I think that we have male sexuality that has grown up like this, and female sexuality that has grown up like this, and so I think it just gets out of balance and wonky.

One of the feminist things we can do today is say, “Hey, wait a minute. I’m responsible for this, I’m not being victimized by this sex that’s coming at me." I deal with these guys trying to find the tiniest spot on a woman’s body after however many years of having a woman not talk to them about their sexuality except to say, “No” or “I don’t like that,” or like “Ewww.” So these guys have as many issues as the women!