Elizabeth Williamson of the Wall Street Journal has coined what might well be the definitive metaphor of the 2012 US presidential election campaign. Or at any rate, the most memorable:

In this neck-and-neck, ideologically fraught presidential election season, politically active singles won't cross party lines. The result is a dating desert populated by reds and blues who refuse to make purple.

I'm pretty sure I've read a story like this about whether people of differing political inclinations can get (it) on away from the polling station and the political fundraiser at some point during every presidential campaign I've followed – when was the last time a campaign was other than fraught/divisive/momentous?¹ – but I don't think the prospect of couples declining to … ahem … make purple has come up before.

[Via The Awl]

1. I suppose it would have been one of the campaigns where the outcome wasn't in that much doubt and the challenger was something of a sacrificial lamb. Clinton vs Dole? Reagan vs Mondale? ↩

Over at collision detection, a post on squid sex that includes the phrase "This behaviour further exemplifies the 'live fast and die young' life strategy of many cephalopods." Of course you want to read the rest.

Miss Lovecraft's Sex Ed class.

[Via jwz]

Factoid of the Day:

A single sperm has 37.5MB of DNA information in it. That means a normal ejaculation represents a data transfer of 1,587.5TB.

A very respectable peak data transfer rate. It's a pity throughput is so bursty.

[Via LinkMachineGo!]

.sigfile of the day:

Any idiot, upon seeing the first automobile, could easily predict that it would revolutionize transportation. Only someone with exceptionally keen insight could have foreseen that it would also revolutionize the sex lives of teenagers.
— Isaac Asimov

Danny DeVito: painting pictures with words on Twitter.

Comment of the Week [MeFi edition]:

I'm just looking for a girl who can make grilled cheese sandwiches the way Mom used to.

What?

posted by Parasite Unseen at 2:17 AM on June 5 [36 favorites +] [!]

I'm having severe difficulty visualising Safety Cricket, a mobile phone game promoting safe sex that has reportedly been downloaded by 10 million Indians:

The game teaches young people about preventing HIV transmission while they indulge in India's favorite sporting pastime. Offered in regional languages and in low-resolution form, the game praises high scorers for being faithful to their sexual partners. Protective cricket helmets are equated to condoms.

Protective cricket helmets are equated to condoms. How would that work in a gaming context, exactly?

[Via Net Effect]

Natural Harvest: A collection of semen-based recipies

Semen is not only nutritious, but it also has a wonderful texture and amazing cooking properties. Like fine wine and cheeses, the taste of semen is complex and dynamic. Semen is inexpensive to produce and is commonly available in many, if not most, homes and restaurants. Despite all of these positive qualities, semen remains neglected as a food. This book hopes to change that. [...]

[Via Judge a Book by its Cover]

Things to say during sex.

[Via Defective Yeti]

Note to would-be adulterers: keep on top of your video rentals.

[Via John Scalzi]

Please, somebody reassure me that MyBlackBook is a spoof:

Today, everyone is sexually active or thinking about becoming sexually active. Teenagers and adults all over the world are in relationships and are sexually active; some are more active than others – and some put a greater emphasis on their sexual health than others do.

What happens if you find out that you have an STD? How do you know who should be notified? Well some people, both male and female, keep track of whom they have slept with in either a little diary or notebook. However, this has always posed a security flaw: "What if someone finds it??".

Well, MyBlackBook has solved that problem by creating The Internet's First Secure and Confidential Online Sexual History Tracker!

[Via Fimoculous]

My favourite comment from the MetaFilter thread about FIA president Max Mosley's embarrassing videotape:

I would SO pay a small amount to watch the unedited video with enthusiastic if inaccurate commentary by Murray Walker.

posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 3:04 AM on April 2

Not something we'll be seeing in ITV's coverage of the next Formula 1 outing, I'd guess.