Vote for the Travelling TARDIS

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Hello Everyone,

My wife has worked hard over the years to take entertaining pictures of her awesome Travels of the crocheted TARDIS!.

This year it’s been nominated for an Aurora Award and I’d love to see it win.

Please, if you enjoy the pictures, go vote for the Travelling TARDIS in the category of Best Fan Writing and Publications.

There are only 2 days left to vote.

GO VOTE HERE!

Thank you!

Éric

P.S. Everyone on the ballot is absolutely fantastic and deserves to win.

Recommendation Wednesday: Disney Food Blog

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Do you love Disney? Do you love food? Have I got the blog for you!

Disney Food Blog

Menus, festivals, food news, and guides to the food at Disney World and Disneyland in California.

Image from Disney Food Blog.

Are you interested in travelling to Disney? They are currently taking bookings until Dec 31, 2019! Jen has retired from working as a travel agent. Hope you’ve enjoyed Fandom Travel . 

Movies with the Toddler Dragon

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Hello My Imaginary Friends,

One of the great joys of parenting is seeing things through your child’s eyes (Not literally; put down the ice-cream scoop).

Toddler Dragon watching the end credits of Hotel Transylvania 3

Dragon has been watching movies with us for a while now. Most movies she can sit and watch the entire thing making the most adorable noises and expressions.

More and more, I find myself watching her watch a movie. It’s like experiencing it all over again and it’s wonderful. Even a mediocre movie is infinitely more fun with her. The older she gets, the more she’s seeing and understanding what’s going on.

I had a lot of fun watching Creature From the Black Lagoon and pausing when she would scream, “Scary!” only to have her look up at me and say, “Again!” each time. (Nearly everything she says has an exclamation mark on the end.)

She’s helping my jaded, grumpy self see the little fun parts of movies. Even if it’s just a pretty picture of the, “MOON!”

Later Days,

Éric

Being an Author is hard but worth it

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Hello My Imaginary Friends,

Being a author is hard. You are constantly bombarded by articles that say things like:

Ok that last one was a trick and actually pretty positive.

Borrowed from Usborne Books.

The point is that even when you’re published you have to work your ass off to get your book in peoples hands and only 25% will actually read that book. (These statistics are my educated guess.) From those that read your book they’ll tell you they like it and then put it on their shelves and forget about it. Until you publish something else and if they actually liked it they might buy the next one.

That’s the life cycle of a regular book. One that doesn’t get turned into a TV show or movie, explode in sales, or cause a kerfuffle with its content.

I see what some fantastic authors do to encourage their book sales and I feel like I should be doing more. More writing, more advertising, more promotion, more writing, more events, more submitting to review, and did I say more writing?

An excellent guide to the care and feeding of a writer by Agarthan Guide.

The real problem with writing, novels specifically, is the speed of return. I so envy my friends who write fanfiction and can receive almost immediate feedback and love. A book takes me a year or two to write, another year to edit and pitch, and (if I’m lucky) another year to edit and publish. Sometimes it’s longer. This week marks the four year anniversary of me starting to write Everdome. It will hopefully be published in either 2019 or 2020.

So being an author is hard but there’s nothing like the feeling of holding your book after all that time or having someone tell you how much they loved your book.

Long story short or as the kids-these-days say TL;DR, it’s not easy but I love it and I’m not going to stop.

 

Later days,

Éric

Blush: Skene’s Gland

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The other day, as I was scrolling through Tumblr, I came across a question about squirting; whether it was a real thing and what it actually was.

The person said it was a real thing, gave a couple references with the disclaimer that they were all gender-insensitive, and said that when you squirt, it’s urine.

Which made me pause.

Because I was pretty sure that I remembered my University professor talking about squirting, and saying that it was NOT urine.

So I figured, if I’m going to research this anyways, I might as well write a post about it.

A surge pool in New Zealand. Image from www.sciencesource.com.

First of all, I have got to agree with that Tumblr user: gendered language is rampant when you try to find resources on this topic. So please, be warned if you click the links in the blog post.

Secondly, WOW was it hard to find references from good sources! Because squirting is considered a “fad” right now, there are a lot of magazines and random reddit pages dedicated to it. None of these have actual sources, just personal experiences.

Not to discount personal experience. That is super important. It tells us that squirting is a thing that happens, to more people than “a few”. It is normal and nothing to be ashamed of.

However, unless those people have a degree in Biochemistry or at the very least, know how to test the contents of the fluid that is emitted, those personal experiences do not tell us anything about what the fluid is composed of.

The first place I looked was on Dr Lindsey Doe’s Sexplanations channel. She had done a video on squirting, and that was helpful in a way. Taking a look at the transcript, here is the key moment:

I hear about the Skene’s Gland, that there’s an identified organ from which the fluid exits the body. It’s considered a para-urethral tissue, meaning it’s around the urethra, which is why fluid content is two percent urine: proximity. Ejaculation is also comprised of – oh we don’t know exactly – why is that.

Great! I feel a surge (pun intended) of validation. However, she doesn’t include her sources in the video.

So I dove back into the research pool.

The first article I found was…not very helpful. It essentially said that the ejaculate was urine.

Okay…

I clicked on the link within that article, and it is to Wiley Online Library, a textbook resource. Great, I think. This will be a valid source.

This particular source is a study done with ultrasounds before, during, and after sexual stimulation. It showed that the bladder was empty before, filled during, and was empty after the emission.

I’m starting to doubt my memory of the professor’s lecture.

I change tactics. I now research the Skene’s gland. Hopefully that won’t draw in the articles that are all about the “fad” of squirting.

I get a definition, firstly. (Modified to eliminate gendered language)

The Skene’s (paraurethral) gland is the histologic homologue to the […] prostate. […] This gland is formed by tubuloalveolar adenomers surrounded by connective tissue and smooth muscle fibers.

Okay. That doesn’t help with much, other than it exists.

Next I read a really interesting study that explains how the Skene’s gland morphs – the more you use it, the easier it is to use it and the more openings there are, essentially.

Great. But that doesn’t explain why that study found the the bladder appeared to be full when they did a pelvic ultrasound.

So I decided that I wanted to see a picture of the Skene’s gland. Where was it EXACTLY? And more importantly, could it swell with fluid to make it seem like the bladder was full?

Do you know how many diagrams of the genital system don’t even bother to label the Skene’s gland?

A lot.

I found a couple that were properly labelled. Click for images of the vulva and interior shots.

The Skene’s gland is found around the urethra, between it and the vaginal wall. Colloquially, you might know it as the G-Spot.

So now I know exactly where it is. But I still have no idea if it can swell with fluid or if it mimic a full bladder. And I’m out of resources.

Unfortunately, not a lot of research has been done on this, as it has only recently been discovered. I can tell you a couple things, though:

  1. With the proximity of the Skene’s gland openings to the urethra, leftover urine would most definitely be in any samples collected from the Skene’s emissions.
  2. The fluid emitted from the Skene’s gland contains PSA – prostate-specific antigen – the same biochemical component found in prostates.
  3. Not all people with vulvas have this gland, and even if they do, they might not have many openings for the emissions.
  4. More research is desperately needed for this. The lack of valid sources on this topic was discouraging.

So I’m going to have to leave this topic here. I can’t say with absolute certainty why that study showed a full bladder with a pelvic ultrasound, but I have a hypothesis that it was the Skene’s gland masquerading as a bladder. Anyone want to prove me wrong?

References

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzngn1ZPr4k
https://nerdfighteria.info/v/lzngn1ZPr4k/
http://www.thesexmd.com/squirting-really/
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jsm.12799
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12201043
https://www.jsm.jsexmed.org/article/S1743-6095(16)30629-4/fulltext
https://medwrite.biz/61478_skenes_gland_diagram_skenes_gland_diagram/
http://www.actforlibraries.org/the-skenes-gland/

If you’re enjoying the Blush blogs, consider learning more with Blush: The Card Game from Renaissance Press.

The 5 Steps in Toddler Dragon’s Bedtime Routine

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Hello My Imaginary Friends,

Having children gives you a serious appreciation for the absurd. The Toddler Dragon’s bedtime routine has constantly evolved. This past week it’s hit peak silly.

Here are The 5 Steps in Toddler Dragon’s Bedtime Routine:

Step 1: The Cleanup

This is the step where we help her clean up her toys. Jen starts while I pour milk and cut cheese and then I take over while she drinks and eats.

There are only two ways this step goes. Shockingly easy or maddeningly difficult.

The Dragon will either be eager to please and go to bed or mischievously stubborn. On the difficult modes, she’ll bury herself in pillows, run around, and giggle at our frustration. Sometimes I give up and pick her up while making helicopter noises. She can’t run away and picks up the toys.

Sometimes this has all the excitement of an Easter egg hunt.

Step 2: The Chase

She insists on turning on the light on the stairs and the monitor. Even when she tells me to “DO IT!” like a bad 90’s sitcom, she gets annoyed if she didn’t do it herself. Then she runs away to our bedroom, either the master bath or closet. She stands in the dark until we come get her.

Once he have her, we get her onto the toilet for her first GOPEE! This is usually followed by an angry no and nomore.

After the toilet, her hands get washed and she runs back to our room staring into the depth of our unlit closet or shower.

Step 3: The Wrestling

Next comes the pyjamas. Her current ones have Stitch on them (you are what you wear?) and getting her into them is sort of like wrestling a small giggling bear. Some days it is affectionate, some days it’s squirmy, and some days you get bitten.

Once all this is done, I pick her up and throw her onto the pillow on mum’s lap for tooth brushing.

That’s when I go to the washroom and the Dragon gets read a story and nursed a little.

This normally ends with her second GOPEE!

Step 4: The Random

Before she GOESPEE, she kisses her Mum goodnight. Then we GOPEE, this usually involves counting toes. I will count and she’ll cut me off with, “One, One, Two, One, Two, Three, Quatre, Six, Huit, Dix!”

From there, I wrestle her into her diaper, she squeezes her squeaky Totoro and says, “Toto-oh”.

Then I ask if she’d like me to sing, tell her a story, or just hang out. (I miss singing and telling stories.) She says NO Sleep! So I awkwardly position myself on her toddler bed and toy box. (I’m a big guy and I really don’t want to break the mattress or bed.) And pretend to snore.

She then climbs on to me and makes me get off the bed. She jumps on my back like a horse rider and I get three steps before she make me lie down on my stomach.

And the highlight (for her) of the night is that she gets to play with the mole on my back… 😐

The past few nights she’s found it hilarious to try and lick said mole. Every time I say, “Don’t lick me.” she bursts into giggles. We then argue about licking until Mum comes back from brushing her teeth and doing her back exercises.

Step 5: The Stall

Mum nurses the Dragon and sings her wonderful songs. (I’m jealous of both of them.)

After the first song we get GOPEE! number three. This one usually gets pee if I bribe her with playing with the mole on my neck.

“Mole!” she says.

“Only if you pee,” I reply, wondering how this conversation became common place.

Next we have more nursing and when it’s all over Jen puts her to bed and tells her to stay in bed. This is followed within a minute by GOPEE! number four. This one is normally just a stalling tactic.

When that’s done, she runs to the master bedroom (diaper less) and gives mom a kiss and hug. (Sometimes an accidental kick or punch.)

I then put her to bed and tell her to stay in bed. That she isn’t a baby anymore and that big kids stay in bed.

This is followed within 5 minutes with GOPEE! number five. I only bring her to the washroom for this one if she’s peed for 3 and 4.

I then put her to bed and tell her to stay in bed. That she isn’t a baby anymore and that big kids stay in bed.

From this point she either goes to sleep or I have to sit with her until she falls asleep.

The whole thing takes maybe 30 minutes and is completely surreal.

We’re completely lucky that she’s this easy but sometimes I really wish I had access to the Dungeons & Dragons spell Sleep.

Later Days,

Éric