Comments on: Argiope aurantia : Living, Lusting, Loving, Wed, Dead

By: gypsysoul

gypsysoul — Tue, 01 Jul 2003 11:40:08 +0000

So you’re saying–gee… that RJ is right– that the hetero male indeed lusts first, based on whatever particular physical aspect of the female happens to intrigue him. And then, perchance, he may notice that this physical aspect comes attached to a brain or an especially neat personality, or if he gets really lucky, both. What a relief, Alan, that you have conquered that unseemly and outmoded behavior, opting instead for the pleasure of cushion shopping :-). Your significant other has found herself quite a catch! I’m proud of you for overcoming those baser instincts in your efforts to appear worthy in the eyes of your breast-er- soul-mate.

In my own totally unscientific poll (one male), it seems that love and lust CAN occur simultaneously, at least, in rare cases. This poll has soothed my psyche.

As usual, you have given us THE final answer on this most significant of all Sciscoop topics.
Women everywhere thank you for your candid and astute explanation as to why males gaze in the area of our sternums rather than our eyes when they try to converse with us.

By: rickyjames

rickyjames — Tue, 01 Jul 2003 11:38:03 +0000

if all the atoms in the universe were transformed into breasts, there would still not be enough breasts…

Must…look….elsewhere….for….tomorrow’s….science…..quote…..

By: Alan Von Fan

Alan Von Fan — Tue, 01 Jul 2003 10:42:30 +0000

The Chambers Dictionary:Lust n strong sexual desire; passionate desire; eagerness to possess; longing; appetite; relish (rare); pleasure (Spenser and Shakesp).-vi to desire eagerly (with after or for); to have strong sexual desire; to have strong desires. [OE lust pleasure].

Me:To summarise, from a (heterosexual) male point of view, if all the atoms in the universe were transformed into breasts, there would still not be enough breasts. The degree of lust engendered is affected by the perceived quality of the breasts according to the personal tastes of the viewer. Love comes into play once it has been ascertained that the breasts in question are friendly breasts that it might be worth settling down with. With careful training from an early age however, this can happen very quickly after the male in question has been made aware of the putative presence of the breasts (it is not actually necessary to observe the breasts, a reasonable certainty that they exist is enough to ensure follow-up action to be taken concerning their affability).

I am of course speaking of other males; I myself am a paragon of virtue who would far rather go shopping for cushions than indulge in such outmoded and unseemly behaviour.

Today's game is guess the BS level; answers on a postcard to Germaine Greer(on the grounds that you know she knows the answer).

By: gypsysoul

gypsysoul — Mon, 30 Jun 2003 10:52:16 +0000

…or maybe it’s only that danged male/female thing. I could have sworn that lust means a whole lot more than just attraction. And that your “loving” verb was a delicate way of saying,
—-ing the poor spider to death.

Gee, I wish I’d known all these years that the gentlemen making contact with me were actually lusting in their hearts. I thought they merely needed help with their French homework or were being gallant, or Southernly hospitable, or otherwise just friendly. Thanks for the insight.
:-)

By: rickyjames

rickyjames — Mon, 30 Jun 2003 09:06:25 +0000

Lust comes first, then love. Lust is an attraction felt by an individual that draws that person into making contact with the object of their (hoped for) affection. Love is when the attraction is felt mutually and is reciprocated, and this can only occur after the initial contact – which was motivated by lust.

By: gypsysoul

gypsysoul — Mon, 30 Jun 2003 08:39:29 +0000

Then you agree with me that the more typical order, at least among sober humans, is living, LOVING, lusting,… rather than our fearless administrator’s version of living, lusting, loving. Of course, RJ is using a euphemism for the physical activity, not the emotional entanglement we humans find ourselves in from time to time. Perhaps the typical argiope male consumes large quantities of some alcoholic nectar before taking the suicide plunge… That would explain the indiscriminate lust.

Great idea on keeping the dictionary handy while on telephone hold, also. At least we’ll no longer need one handy for telemarketing pitches… if we can ever get through to the DON’T CALL directory.

By: Alan Von Fan

Alan Von Fan — Mon, 30 Jun 2003 03:14:30 +0000

…that lust is usually quite discriminating (although alcohol can have an effect here).

With regard to ferreting out useful information in otherwise unoccupied time: I remember reading a short bio of a CEO who increased his vocabulary by keeping a dictionary on his desk, which he read whenever he telephoned someone and was put ‘on hold’.

By: Alan Von Fan

Alan Von Fan — Fri, 27 Jun 2003 18:16:18 +0000

It sounds as though this will make a useful plank for supporters of Richard Dawkins' 'selfish gene' theories. (An article touching on this subject and others can be found here. It's quite long, and written to make a point, but makes intersting reading)

By: gypsysoul

gypsysoul — Fri, 27 Jun 2003 09:20:13 +0000

Poor guys… reminds me of Sara Teasdale’s poem “Barter”: “And for a breath of ecstasy/ Give all you’ve been, or could be.” I consider this barter to be a bit unbalanced, but only the male Argiope knows for sure, and dead spiders tell no tales.

By: gypsysoul

gypsysoul — Thu, 26 Jun 2003 11:39:32 +0000

Hey, thanks for the info and the link. Who needs the entire mayfly course when one has access to National Geographic and a wait in a doctor’s office?