Oleg Kulik (born 1961 in Kiev) is an Ukrainian-born Russian performance artist, sculptor, photographer and curator. Kuliks creates a symbolic set of parameters, which define the environment the dog-personae will inhabit and then devise a series of actions that unfold as a response. The artist describes the dialogue within his practice as “a conscious falling out of the human horizon” which places him on hands and knees. His intention is to describe what he sees as a crisis of contemporary culture, a result of an overly refined cultural language that leads to barriers between individuals. Thus, he simplifies his performance language to the basic emotive of a domestic animal...

The life models who pose at the city's beaux arts schools went on strike and, despite freezing temperatures, demonstrated nude outside the municipal culture department.

The 15 models, supported by teachers and trade union officials, were protesting against the end of the tradition of le cornet -- a rolled up paper in which generations of students have left a tip after their session. They are also demanding official recognition of a craft which they say is central to European art, with its devotion to the human form.

"We are as important as the teacher and the painter because without us they could not teach or paint," said Salvatori, one of the protesters. "Without Gabrielle, who would Renoir have been?. (Gabrielle Renard, the nanny of the child Jean Renoir, was father Auguste's favourite model)...

Just off the crowded central market in Old Damascus, a sales assistant called Mahmoud is giving me my first introduction into an unusual Syrian speciality - musical knickers.

The garments come in many different shapes and colours, and play little tunes - or other extraneous noises like telephone ringtones - all made by small electronic devices hidden in the lining.

Singing underwear isn't the only item on sale at the "Fatin Shop for Ladies Indoor Clothing", where Mahmoud is proudly showing off his product lines.

He's got knickers with flashing fairy lights, others that glow in the dark, a bra-and-knickers set shaped like manicured women's hands enveloping the wearer's crotch and breasts.

In a slightly higher price range, he's got remote-controlled bras and knickers, designed to spring open and fall to the floor with a clap of the hands or a press of a button.

Welcome to the no-frills world of Syrian lingerie - no frills, but plenty of tassels, and feathers, and zips, and bras which open like curtains, and...

Women can be as sexually unrestrained as men. In fact, there is a huge overlap in the sociosexuality scores of men and women, with more variation within the sexes than between them. Some researchers are now trying to explain these subtleties in terms of biology and evolution.

Take the fact that women's interest in casual sex can vary wildly over time. A hint that these short-term sexual encounters might have biological and evolutionary advantages comes from the timing of them. Several studies have shown that women are more likely to fancy a fling around the time they are ovulating - although there is no suggestion that this is a conscious decision. Not only that, says David Schmitt of Bradley University, Illinois, women show a shift in preference to men who look more masculine and symmetrical - both indicators of good genes. Women may have a dual strategy going, suggests Schmitt. "Humans infants need a lot of help, so we have pair-bonding where males and females help raise a child, but the woman can obtain good genes - perhaps better genes than from the husband - through short-term mating right before ovulation."...

Returning Creation (from the High Couch of Silistria series), by Janet Morris.
If you like to see ladies brought low, and then raised up to be worshipped, and then brought low again, then the "High Couch of Silistra" series is for you. Set on a planet of psychically-gifted people who embrace sexual diversity and peace, the series is focused mainly on sexual slavery and war. Our heroine is a prostitute (a noble calling on her world) who holds the "high couch" of her town - basically, she's the sex duchess. Unfortunately she's always being kidnapped or taken to other worlds where she's tied up, forced to have degrading sex, and (of course) has lots of tearful, shame-faced orgasms. Silly and pulpy, the first novel in the series is basically a swashbuckler with kinky bondage thrown in between sword fights. Also, there is a giant flying cat.
Kinks: Sexual slavery, bondage.

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. Once you overcome any initial hesitation, you will be surprised to learn how wonderful semen is in the kitchen. Semen is an exciting ingredient that can give every dish you make an interesting twist. If you are a passionate cook and are not afraid to experiment with new ingredients - you will love this cook book!

Poor men. All that time and effort wasted. A study has shown that foreplay adds little to a woman's overall enjoyment of sex.

The main event itself is far more important, the researchers found.

Their findings contradict traditional bedroom etiquette, which dictates that men must take it slow.

More than 2,300 women were quizzed about their sex lives for the study. Questions covered areas such as the division of time between foreplay and intercourse, and how often the women had an orgasm.

Foreplay lasted for an average of 15.4 minutes and intercourse for 16.2, the Journal of Sexual Medicine reports.

Further scrutiny of the results, collected in the Czech Republic, led the researchers from the University of the West of Scotland and Charles University in Prague to conclude that foreplay contributed little to a woman's enjoyment of the encounter.

The researchers said: 'In contrast to the assumptions of many sex therapists and educators, more attention should be given to improve quality and duration of intercourse rather than foreplay.'...