Does Erotica Make You Uncomfortable? [Edited]

Well does it?
It depends?
Depends on what?
It’s not like it’s porn.
Or is it?
So do you like it…maybe a little?
Is it difficult to admit?
Why?
And why are you looking at this post?
Do you regret it?
Didn’t you see the warning?
Or were you just curious?
So seriously, what’s your fetish?
Oh you don’t have a fetish?
Really?
Are you sure?
OK, Well enjoy.
…maybe.

WAIT…before you click ‘continue’ — If nudity, erotica, etc. is not your cup of tea, you probably don’t want to go any further. Just letting you know!

Appreciating Modern and Distinctive German Architecture

Eventually I’m going to blog about something I actually know about, but until then, there’s German architecture. Somewhere between wanting to be a film director, an internet entrepreneur, a best-selling novelist and a circus promoter, there was a lonely period of about three months during my first year of college when I actually thought I would one day be an architect.

The Kunstmuseum Stuttgart

The Kunstmuseum Stuttgartis a contemporary and modern art museum built and opened in 2005. The cubic museum building with 5000 m² of display space was designed by Berlin architects Hascher and Jehle. Among locals it is affectionately called, “The Glass Cube.”

Rehab for a Former Erotica Writer

Michael Lang – “Shame”

Once upon a time I wrote erotic stories and built a fairly sizable following. While the original intention was to write short romance stories of authentic love and conflict between couples, over time these stories morphed into something else. If and when I came to a part of a story where it was natural to me that the characters would be intimate, I did not want to sugar coat the moment. I did not want to Harlequinize it.

To the best of my abilities I tried to interweave these authentic erotic moments intelligently within the full context of the story. Well the good news was that readers really seemed to like them, but the bad news was that they were mostly fixated on only the sex scenes which I thought were only but a small part of my stories.

Mark 2.0 – Preparing for My Juice Fast (Pt. 1)

Indirectly, I recently learned about filmmaker, Joe Cross and his movie, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, a surprisingly motivating biopic about his journey losing weight and more importantly becoming healthy through juicing. If you’re not familiar with it, check it out – very inspiring!

Brown Skin

The other day on the train I noticed a woman sitting directly across from me staring intently at my hands. I suppose I can’t be certain  why she was doing so; perhaps she was just unintentionally staring in that direction without realizing it. But it has happened before, except on that occasion the person actually made a comment about my skin.

• JUST A WARNING: The following photo gallery includes a few (tastefully) nude photographs. If this is not your thing, you probably don’t want to read any further…Just letting you know!

Ice Cream in Germany (Why are my balls so small?)

Germans can be a bit funny at times, or at least funny to me. In general they are very um…structured. They seem to like rules and guidelines, and for me that kind of lifestyle pretty much makes me itch. 

The Islamic Hijab – Beauty Regardless

If there is any group of people I would love to have a conversation with, it’s the women of Muslim faith who adhere to some aspect of hijab. For those who are not familiar with the word, hijab refers to a “religious” dress code that includes the head and/or face covering worn by Muslim females; it can also refer to their complete manner of dressing.

Hijab  – To cover, conceal, hide, screen, and shelter

Inspiration – On Creating My Personal Space

My body aches from two days of ragging onto the walls of my flat a fairly bright golden, mustard color. This will be the backdrop for hopefully more contrasting bursts of surprising elements of style and crafts. We’ll see what my mind conjures up as time goes on.

Here are just a few of the images I’ve collected that have helped stimulate my imagination…

Basketball Diary #1

My beloved Los Angeles Lakers are out of the playoffs and I think I’m the only one in Germany who gives a damn. For a few days last year there was actually a bit of excitement as German hero, Dirk Nowitski’s Dallas Mavericks won the NBA championship.If nothing else, it gave them one more reason to gather and drink beer.

Color Therapy

More than ever I’ve been having a burning desire to create — more creative writing, learning photography, drawing and painting. About ten years ago during a particularly sad time in my life, I very impulsively I enrolled in a painting class at Santa Monica College. It turned out to be the best decision I could have ever made at that time.