I posted on this in the past, but the NKOTB are officially reuniting and even coming out with a new album. Regardless of what the new songs sound like, I would go just for the old ones. Joe - who was always my favorite - is even better looking as an adult. And even though I have long fallen out of like with him, I still would enjoy relishing in those moments of pre-adolescent and young adolescent puppy love. The New Kids are a good example of how young girls and boys make sense of their sexuality and their feelings. We all need reference points as we’re growing up and trying to figure out in what ways we are similar to or different from our friends, who we think is attractive, what we imagine doing with them, and how we feel about dating, sex, marriage, and things we hear about. We may have feelings toward classmates, friends, neighborhood friends or celebrities. For me, the NKOTB were part of my development and some of their songs still remind me of those early feelings. So, yes, I will try to go to a show if I can and hang out with all the other adult women reliving your youth. Though this time, I imagine many of us will be smiling and laughing, rather than screaming. Read more about the NKOTB reunion here and here and here.

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Though Richard Gere will certainly not be met with open arms by everyone in India, given what many consider to be his culturally insensitive kissing behavior last year (of Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, pictured above), attempts to issue warrants for his arrest have apparently been denied by the courts. Read the full article here.

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It seems, at least according to some reports of a recent French research study, that French women and men are becoming more similar in their sexual behavior… not terribly surprising perhaps to researchers who feel that, given fewer societal restraints, men and women are more similar than we often give them credit for. This article describes increasingly similar behavior in terms of age at first intercourse and number of sex partners among the French - sadly, it doesn’t seem to touch on what I find fascinating about French sexuality: the expectation that many husbands will have mistresses, and the uniquely French feminist idea that reassures coupled/married women that it is okay to have men on the side as well. Read the full Telegraph article here.

Somewhat related: one of my favorite books by a French author is The Lover by Marguerite Duras - I seriously have probably read it at least 10 times. It is very, very good in English and even better to read in French (I think). And a wonderful and fairly recent French film is Julie Delpy’s 2 Days in Paris which, I think, does a good job portraying at least some of the differences between French and American expressions of sexuality. I could easily watch it again right now.

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