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A relationship is like a rose. How long it lasts, no one knows. Love can erase an awful past, love can be yours, you’ll see at last. To feel that love, it makes you sigh. To have it leave, you’d rather die. You hope you’ve found that special rose, cause you love and care for the one you chose. ~ Anonymous We wish one and all a Very Happy Valentine's Day - Phatforums Staff … [Read more...]
DALLAS, Texas — Nate Robinson of the New York Knicks edged rookie DeMar DeRozan to become the first three-time champion of the NBA All-Star weekend's Slam Dunk contest. Robinson won by the slimmest of margins, capturing 51 percent of the fan vote in the competition that highlights the Saturday night All-Star festivities. DeRozan had advanced to the final round after receiving a perfect score of 50 on his second dunk of the first round. For his final dunk, Robinson threw the ball off the backboard, grabbed it and turned in the air to throw down a two-handed bacward slam. He celebrated by seizing a pair of silver and blue pompoms from one of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders who joined him on court for his finale. "I just wanted them to stand over there and cheer," Robinson said. DeRozan had earned a place in the competition on Friday, when he was voted in in the first ever "Dunk-In" competition at halftime of the Rookie Challenge game. Charlotte's Gerald Wallace and Shannon Brown of the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated after the first round in Saturday night's marquee event. Robinson won the dunk title as a rookie in 2006, then beat Dwight Howard to win again last year. In the three-point Shootout, Boston's Paul Pierce expunged the memory of an embarrassing performance in his last appearance in 2002 with a victory. "I wanted this really bad," said Pierce, who had 20 points in the final round to beat Golden States Stephen Curry and Denver's Chauncey Billups. When Pierce last competed in the Shootout he scored only eight points. Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash - fresh from an appearance in the Vancouver Olympics opening ceremony on Friday, triumphed over a trio of 20-something rivals to win the Skills Challenge. After helping light the Olympic cauldron in Vancouver, Canada's Nash is also slated to play the All-Star game on Sunday at Cowboys Stadium, home of Dallas' NFL team. It's something of a homecoming for Nash, who played for the Dallas Mavericks from 1998-2004. Saturday's events were at the Mavericks' arena, while Sunday's All-Star game will be at the new Cowboys Stadium, where where more than 90,000 people are expected to attend. … [Read more...]
Apparently, NASCAR schedule makers did not confer with married men when they scheduled today’s Daytona 500. NASCAR’s most prestigious race happens to fall on Valentine’s Day. Many women love NASCAR. My wife is not among them. So I had to beg and plead in the hopes that we could schedule our Valentine’s Day plans around the Daytona 500. She agreed. She’s a saint. This is not the first time the Daytona 500 coincided with Valentine’s Day. It’s happened six times before. Some of NASCAR’s most successful drivers own Valentine’s Day Daytona 500 victories, including Jeff Gordon and Richard Petty. Two of the most famous finishes in Daytona 500 history happened on Valentine’s Day. Dale Jarrett edged Dale Earnhardt during the final lap in 1993. Bobby Allison finished just in front of his son, Davey, to win in 1988, the same race that included a spectacular crash involving Petty. So who will win this year? It’s a tough call because the field seems even more wide open than usual. Rather than anoint a favorite in such an unpredictable race, I thought I would list several drivers who I think have the best chance to win: Kasey Kahne: He won the second qualifying race and appears to have one of his fastest cars ever for the 500. He also has a history of solid finishes at Daytona with four top 10 finishes in his last six races there. Kevin Harvick: He won the Bud Shootout. He nearly won the first qualifying race. He’s a former Daytona 500 winner. If anybody is the odds-on favorite, it’s Harvick. Tony Stewart: In my opinion, Stewart is the best restrictor-plate racer in the field. He’s won the summer Daytona race three times, but never the 500. Could this be his year? Kurt Busch: All three Penske Dodges seem extremely fast. Busch has five straight top 10s at Daytona. This seems like a potentially winning combination. Kyle Busch: It remains to be seen if he’s patient enough to win the Daytona 500. Chances are, he’ll lead a bunch of laps. Jimmie Johnson: He won his qualifying race due to slick strategy by Chad Knaus. His car doesn’t seem especially fast, but it’s never wise to count out the four-time champion. David Ragan: He’s the ultimate dark horse. Ragan is still looking for his first Sprint Cup victory, but he does have three top five finishes at Daytona. Plus, he’s driving a Roush Ford. They have been fast all week long. He could pull off a shocking win or draft one of his teammates to the checkered flag. No single team appears dominant, but the Roush-powered Fords, Childress Chevrolets and Penske Dodges appear to be faster than the rest. In what tends to be a high-stakes, wreck-filled race, luck plays at least a small role in who will be there at the end to battle for the victory. I’ll be watching with my wife’s blessing, but I sincerely hope NASCAR avoids this awkward scheduling conflict in the future. Reach staff writer Brandon Oland at 410-857-7862 or brandon.oland@carroll -countytimes.com. PS - … [Read more...]
The hormones oxytocin and vasopressin make you feel deeply attached to someone. STORY HIGHLIGHTS * Adrenaline rush causes heart to beat faster * A drop in serotonin levels is associated with obsessive thinking * Being in love makes people feel optimistic, energetic, focused and motivated * Expert: There are three brain systems of romantic love RELATED TOPICS * Sexuality * Romance * Relationships * Mental Health (CNN) -- Poets, novelists and songwriters have described it in countless turns of phrase, but at the level of biology, love is all about chemicals. Although the physiology of romantic love has not been extensively studied, scientists can trace the symptoms of deep attraction to their logical sources. "Part of the whole attraction process is strongly linked to physiological arousal as a whole," said Timothy Loving (his real name), assistant professor of human ecology at the University of Texas, Austin. "Typically, that's going to start with things like increased heart rate, sweatiness and so on," When you catch sight of your beloved and your heart starts racing, that's because of an adrenaline rush, said Dr. Reginald Ho, a cardiac electrophysiologist and associate professor of medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Here's how it works: The brain sends signals to the adrenal gland, which secretes hormones such as adrenaline, epinephrine and norepinephrine. They flow through the blood and cause the heart to beat faster and stronger, Ho said. The response is somewhat similar to a fast heartbeat while running on a treadmill, although exercise has other benefits, he said. For people with serious heart problems, love could actually be dangerous, Ho said. That's because when the heart rate goes up, the heart uses more oxygen, which can be risky for an older person with blood vessel blockages or who has had a prior heart attack. But good medicines such as beta blockers help curb the adrenaline response, Ho said. It is also likely that norepinephrine, a stress hormone that governs attention and responding actions, makes you feel weak in the knees, said Helen Fisher, professor at Rutgers University and author of the book "Why Him? Why Her? Finding Real Love by Understanding Your Personality Type." Fisher's research team did brain imaging of people who said they were "madly in love" and found activity in the area of the brain that produces the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine and norepinephrine are closely related. "What dopamine does is it gives you that focused attention, the craving, the euphoria, the energy and the motivation, in this case the motivation to win life's greatest prize," she said. This norepinephrine response has never been precisely studied in relation to romantic love, but the system seems to be more activated in people in love, she said. Also likely involved is the serotonin system, she said. Some data from an Italian study indicate that a drop … [Read more...]
OK, admit it: The thought of two women together turns you on. Yeah, we knew it. But have you really thought about what women do together -- sexually? Have you ever wondered if you might be able to learn something from lesbians about what turns women on? Well, you’re in luck, because this Valentine’s Day brings with it an awesome new book called Love Her Right: The Married Man’s Guide to Lesbian Secrets for Great Sex! Authors and lovers Dr. Joni Frater and Esther Lastique have graciously offered to share their top 10 lesbian secrets in this exclusive article for AskMen.com just in time for turning the heat up this Valentine’s Day. No.10 - Have a night of mutual masturbation An ideal alternative to intercourse is to have a night where you and you lover take turns manually pleasing yourselves. Sometimes, you just want it the way you want it! Get out some lube and candles and apply some to each other, then prop yourselves up on pillows so that you won’t miss the show! Lie close to each other and kiss each other often, especially the neck, breast and belly areas so that you have body-to-body contact and you can really see. Each person has spots on their genitals that are more sensitive than others, so watch where she starts touching herself as one side of the clitoris or the clitoral shaft may have more pleasure zones than the other. You may like your balls touched or pulled, or your perineum stroked, and she needs to see that too. Watching your partner as they use their own hands is a great teaching tool as you both get turned on by the visual display. Hot pillow talk to encourage each other is magical! You might even want to place your hand softly over hers as she touches herself to learn the right pressure. Offer to “lend a hand” if she requests it. Internal stimulation at the same time may help her over the edge to bliss! Hold each other tightly as you come to bind you together in intimacy. No.9 - Try using erotic film as research together New studies show that almost 30% of online porn viewers are female. That being true, many women may prefer to use adult film as research. There are some great instructional DVDs out there that teach techniques including oral play for him and her, erotic massage and female ejaculation. They can provide an interesting approach to seduction on date night. Watch them together with the sound off, so you can get information and a turn-on at the same time. Studying has never been so much fun. No.8 - Don't just thrust away The term "screwing" is actually ancient. It comes from the Taoist technique of literally screwing with your hips during intercourse. Using a horizontal figure-eight motion (the infinity symbol), this technique can help you reach all of those elusive vaginal hot spots during sex, which is usually tough to do. You may also want to try to alternate between short, shallow thrusts -- highly stimulating for you both -- and long deep thrusts, which fill her up while calming you down, … [Read more...]
Many people believe that Valentine’s Day is a made up holiday created by Hallmark to increase business; however Valentine’s Day legends started far before Hallmark was born. It is believed that in the third century in Rome, there was a priest named Valentine who served as a soldier. When the emperor at the time decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed married for young men. Valentine defied the emperor and continued to perform marriages in secret for young lovers. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, the emperor ordered his death. Some believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine’s death, but others believe that the Christian church chose February in efforts to Christianize celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. Lupercalia was a fertility festival celebrated on February 15th. To begin, the men would gather in a secret cave to sacrifice a goat for fertility and a dog for purification. They would then slice the goat’s hide into strips, dip them into blood and take them to the streets to gently slap the women with them. Women wanted to be touched with the goathide strips because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year. After running the streets and smacking women with the goathide strips, the city’s bachelors would then pull a name from the city’s urn to become matched with a young woman. These matches often ended in marriage. About two-hundred years later though, Pope Gelasius deemed these practices un-Christian and outlawed them. He did, however, recognize St. Valentine as a saint and declared February 14th as a day to feast in Valentine’s honor. During the Middle Ages, Valentine’s Day gained back its romantic feel. In Europe, February 14th also marked the start of mating season for birds and people believed it should be a day for romance. Men used this day to write romantic letters to their lovers. By the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common for lovers and friends to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten letters. However, by the end of the century, printed cards began to replace the handwritten cards due to the improvements in printing technology. Today, it is common for lovers and friends all over the world to share cards, chocolates, flowers and other tokens of affection to celebrate Valentine’s Day. It is considered a day for lovers full of hearts to symbolize love and the color red to symbolize passion. Symbols of Cupid, the god of erotic love and beauty, also appear in celebration of the holiday. … [Read more...]
