There's an app for that...

Yes students... there's an app for that. 

Even sex. 

They'll make an app for anything these days!!

The more important question is, what app would be useful to YOU?
I'm guessing if you're reading my blog, you might be interested in learning more about how to broaden your sexual horizons. 

Here's your chance to do a little...

RESEARCH 201: Technology Support

So I thought I would share with you some awesome websites and apps that I came across in my latest google researches. Have fun!

AWESOME STUFF:

• SAA App: https://sexualadviceassociation.co.uk/app/ - "Our SMART app is designed to allow men and women to ask the questions about their sex lives that they didn’t feel comfortable asking before."
• REAL TALK: https://www.myhealthed.org/ - "Real Talk", a sexual education app that uses real teenagers’ stories to address questions about sex, puberty, gender, relationships and more.
• MY SEX DOCTOR: This app can help you and your partner boost your carnal knowledge.
• SEXPOSITIVE:  Based out of the University of Oregon, SexPositive employs a wheel format that lets users move a dial to match one part of the body with another and read about what happens when those parts touch each other (does this sound like a dirty Twister game to anyone else?). It'll give you communication tips as well as STI risks and safer sex recommendations, and it even provides information about making sure an encounter is consensual. The app's website reads:    First, we want folks to examine their motivations for having sex and consider whether they’re ready for sex. Second, for users who are ready for sex, we want them to understand that a “yes” to one sexual act is not a “yes” to every sexual act. Third, we want users to consider a variety of personal boundaries before finding themselves in a high-pressure situation. Finally, we want to model the many ways to express and obtain explicit consent.Now, that's a philosophy we can get on board with. SexPositive is available on the App Store and Google Play and has received over 30,000 downloads.
• SEXUAL HEALTH GUIDE:  The Irish app "Sexual Health Guide", also available on the App Store and Google Play, provides a glossary of sexual health terms, the latest sexual health news, and information about sexual problems, contraceptives, and relationships
• BEDSIDER'S BIRTH CONTROL REMINDERS: This is an app for people like me who are busy and always need a reminder to take their birth control
• EVE: Eve is not your normal period tracker app; it’s actually a lot more.
• PLANNED PARENTHOOD CHAT/TEXT: While the Planned Parenthood Chat/Text isn’t an app, it is a great digital tool that you can access on your phone. This gives you a chance to chat with someone who can direct you to better resources if they don't have the answer.
• SAFE: https://www.safeapp.me/ - SAFE is a Safe Sex app that lets you privately show your verified STD status on your phone, check your partners, and get tested for $99 or just a co-pay using your insurance.
• NEEDTAYKNOW: This is a Sexual Health App based out of Scotland, but I checked it out and it's pretty cool! - http://www.cool2talk.org/health-info-zone/needtayknow-sexual-health-app/
• JUICEBOX: Check this one out at  https://www.fastcompany.com/3058661/a-new-approach-to-sex-ed-fun for an interesting approach to sex-ed.

DIRTIER APPS...

For something a little more fun and a little less educational, we have some really sexy technology for you:

• DIRTY SEX GAME FOR COUPLE (17+) Best truth or dare couple game app by Chouic
• IKAMASUTRA: This app costs $2.99, but looks worth the money. It offers detailed descriptions and illustrations of over 100 pleasure poses.
• L. CONDOMS: Dude!!! Delivery!!! L. Condoms delivers condoms 24 hours a day within one hour through bike messengers who have no idea what they're delivering
• PERFECT MOBILE MASSAGER: Or as some of us call it, a rocket in your pocket. (No one calls it that. Just humor me.) "Perfect mobile massager for your beauty and health" on google play - "Try out the buzzy app on different erogenous zones and sexy body areas—but PLEASE be hygienic, since cell phones are breeding grounds for bacteria."
• MYSTERYVIBE: "MysteryVibe" knows how to use tech to enhance your pleasure. This app is used in conjunction with their Crescendo vibrator that they sell. The app lets users control the Crescendo’s speed and motion from a smartphone, upping the intensity when the time is right or creating custom vibration patterns. It may cost something to buy the vibrator, but if you want something fun you can do with your phone, this sounds like a fun idea!
• LIONESS: "Lioness: Sexual Health Tracker" Another app that goes with a vibrator... when paired with the Lioness massager, the Lioness app gives you a new way to learn and explore you and your own, unique body by giving you a fresh perspective of your sex life and a way to change your routine.

NOTABLE MENTIONS:
Check out this GREAT video on good clitoral sex positions from health.com: //players.brightcove.net/1125866826/default_default/index.html?videoId=5668783972001

FOUR YOUR INFORMATION:
Just because I found it interesting: Websites such as HealthTap, LiveHealth Online and JustDoc, for example, allow you to video chat with medical specialists from your computer. Companies such as L and Nurk allow you to order contraceptives from your cellphone, without ever going to the doctor for a prescription. And there are a slew of at-home STI testing kits from companies like Biem, MyLAB Box and uBiome that let you swab yourself at home, mail in your samples and receive the results on your phone.
(taken from http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/health/ct-sexual-health-apps-20180111-story.html)


I hope something in this list ends up being useful for you! Do you have some other apps that you find interesting or really useful and fun? Let me know! Comment below or shoot an email to ravengenevieveauthor@gmail.com

Look like you just killed a buffalo...

Anyone ever give you advice that sounded like it was making sense, but you had no clue what in the hell they were talking about?

You have to remember that if it sounds a bit crazy, it might just be crazy. You MIGHT be getting advice from someone who actually may not have their facts straight in the first place. Or it might be just a matter of lack of proper knowledge. Or they may not be saying it in a way that is communicating what they really wanted to say.

Let's take for example, this advice from one man to another, who is trying to help his fellow man become more... manly, so to speak. In the more conventional sense of the word. (Go ahead, click play. If you've never seen the movie "Smoke Signals", it's a great one to have in your repertoire.)

LESSON 206: STOICISM 
Let's discuss this word "Stoic", shall we? Have you heard this word before? What kind of images come up when you think of stoic?

Were you aware that stoic is not just a verb, but is also a philosophy? There are actually basic principles of Stoicism that come from a philosophy that goes as far back as 3rd century BC (Socrates times, ya'll).

Not to get into too much detail, it basically emphasizes that it is best to be emotionally resilient, and that some emotions are unhealthy and don't fit in with the natural order of things. It encourages a state of calm and virtue, trying to avoid those 'destructive emotions' that can throw things out of balance. Stoics tend to regard people more by how they behave, rather than by how they speak or think. (Seems to make sense.)

I hate to derail this post too much, since it's not about philosophical belief systems and culture, so if you'd like a quick break-down on what Stoicism's basic principles are, and what you can learn from it, check out this article by Billy Williams. It has some useful ideas that could be applicable to men and women alike (if you so choose to read it that way).
https://www.askmen.com/entertainment/austin/what-stoicism-teaches-us-about-how-to-be-a-man.html

In regards to the word STOIC itself, and perhaps in the way that the video above was referring to, it might help to know where the word came from. It's basic origins come from the Greek word stoikos, or "of the stoa"... stoa being a Portico, or porch... leading to the base of the word stoic. Basically, meaning that your face is a porch.

YES, your face is a porch... a porch made of marble pillars, unchanging... serious... a virtual mystery of what emotion may be residing just under the surface.

Now I know that I've said in previous blogs that women love to laugh. I own that. I still agree that a great sense of humor is amazing. Hell, I'll even advocate that sometimes healthy laughter is totally amazing, even in the midst of sex. Laughter, endorphins, blah blah blah. I won't take back my word on that.

BUT...

But just like everything else in life... booze, chocolate, sex, drugs, rock and roll... everything is best in moderation. (Well, maybe not chocolate.) We all need to find a good balance in life, and that includes finding a mate with a good balance who isn't always the same all the time. Constantly being bombarded with humor will eventually dull the senses to the humor. It's like taking the same antibiotic all the time. Eventually your body gets used to it and it's not as novel anymore. This goes for a lot of personality traits, such as intensity, excitement, hyperactivity, talkativeness, gushiness, grumpiness, anxiousness, and plenty of other adjectives/adverbs. After all, variety is the spice of life, is it not?

So where does being STOIC come in? Well, have you ever seen one of those scenes where a sexy actor in a movie has this moment of seriousness and the camera seems to feature a look on their face and all the women in the theater swoon because it's just so smoldering?

Well, stoic can be kind of like smoldering, only not as intense. And being stoic has historically been a very male characteristic, kind of like having a deep voice or brooding eyebrows.

Um, well, maybe not like that. Think more like, uh....

That works. My point is, no matter what advice anyone gives you, including advice from myself or my blog, you will want to consider using that advice IN MODERATION. We all need to find a good balance, and if you find yourself in a rut with your relationship, or if you find your partner constantly falling into the same mood, look within and see if you have been consistently projecting the same mood as well.

Don't misinterpret this as encouragement to hide your feelings. If something needs to be dealt with, don't build a porch on your face. Or... a wall... whatever. Don't emotion-block. Some feelings were meant to be worn on the sleeve, otherwise you might end up losing the communication skills you've been trying so hard to develop with your partner and lover.

What I'm trying to say here is, changing it up can be a good thing, even if "changing up" means going for a more serious tone from time to time. See how it affects your life and your relationships. Perhaps you might find conversations following a more philosophical route than they used to. Or you might change the dynamic of a lover-relationship slightly and create some "smolder". Or maybe it might cause someone else to suddenly wonder what your thinking, and wondering leads to curiosity, and curiosity leads to... well, usually fun things. As long as it doesn't involve a cat.

Like I said... everything in moderation. Find that balance.

HOMEWORK: Keep a journal for a week, and on each day write what 'mood' you are going to set for the whole day and try to keep that mood throughout the whole day. Try out happy, excited, hyper, sullen, determined, stoic, sentimental, etc. At the end of every day, write down how others reacted to your mood and whether those are reactions that you enjoyed or not. It's a great practice in seeing how contagious our moods and emotions are, and it also helps you learn more about coworkers and friends. You might find that some people actually have more of an attraction to a different type of personality than you expected.