The places you'll go...

At least I can say that my day wasn't uneventful.

I had a nice homecooked meal with a classmate. After dinner, much to my surprise, I ended up singing karaoke and re-enacting scenes from Top Gun.

Then I tried to study at Tupelo...Conversation with a Catholic.

While reading over therapeutic abortions in blueprints, the conversation naturally turned religious. One of my ob/gyn attendings is Christian and chooses not to use any barrier methods as contraception with his wife. He practices the physiologic method and believes that the abstinences during that period draws him closer to his wife. That's great for him, but I'm not sure how that is more religiously sound than say, using a condom. Both acts represent active decisions to avoid pregnancy. I don't feel that one is more God compliant than the other. If we apply strict Jewish standards, intercourse is really only allowed during the times when fertilization is possible in order to comply with purity standards. On other points, I've gotta hand it to the Catholics. One argument against using condoms or any barrier is exactly that, it creates a barrier between the couple. In some sense there is always a reduced level of intimacy because of that barrier. Making love should entail a complete unification of the physical and spiritual...I think that's sexy as hell.

It reminds me of an article I read in the NewYorker about a hasidic jewish couple. There are long stretches of time where the couple cannot touch each other, even to hand the other a set of keys, because the woman is considered impure during this period (no offense intended here). However, because of this restriction, there is an accentuated sense of the sensual in all things normal. The intimacy during the times that follow the observance of purity is amazing. I think that's beautiful. I wouldn't adhere to it, but it's an interesting thought. Perhaps it's like what Margaret Cho said in Notorious CHO, gay sex is unlike any other sex. Society tries to impose restrictions on their behavior and lives, so the almost rebellious nature of the act makes the experience that much more grr...


Anyhow, while studying at Tupelo, there was a guy sitting at the adjacent table who kept staring. He had an amazing shirt and an intoxicating gaze, but I digress. It turned out to be Timothy Green, the artist for the cartoon Aeon Flux. This was post mtv days. He created the artwork for the movie and currently works for DC comics. We had an amazing conversation for about 10 minutes. From then on, it went downhill, but more unpleasant for me, it kept going and going...and going and going. It went over and hour after I was done talking to him because my study partner kept prodding him on because she felt sorry for this lonely soul. Seriously, it was the most draining conversation I have ever had with a stranger. This is a guy who stays up for days and works, then sleeps 2 hours. In hindsight, I'm convinced he is bipolar, and he is probably convinced that I'm gay. whatever.



-bender