The Lounge is open!

Posted by: Fredster on: April 14, 2012

• In: Lounge | Open Thread
• 49 Comments

The image above is from the Top of the Mart Lounge in New Orleans.  For a good number of generations of New Orleanians, it was *the* place to start a night on the town.  It was one of those revolving things where you could sit in the very large and comfortable chairs and see either the Mississippi, as above, or as it revolved, get a good view of downtown New Orleans and Canal Street.  What you see above is not an island, but rather the bend in the river as it flows to the Gulf.  The city owns the International Trade Mart building and it is now closed.  Most likely the building will be coming down and something else will go on that prime real estate.  Ah, memories.

This first item kind of had me cringing a bit.  It seems that an “unnamed victim” had a former girlfriend who decided to outdo Lorena Bobbit.  After the breakup the poor guy was just sitting at home innocently on his computer when the former girlfriend Christina Reber broke in and “first struck him on the head and then grabbed his scrotum and began “squeezing as hard as she could.” Naturally, he told officers that he “was in incredible pain when [she] grabbed his scrotum and began digging in her fingers.”  And to quote from the article:

The police report indicates that the scrotum area was “completely torn loose from his body.” Reber reportedly “refused to let go of his scrotum,” but that the victim was finally able to remove his b@lls from her vice-like grip.

As if the story isn’t already good enough, the victim, who has not been identified, was taken to BALL MEMORIAL HOSPITAL. As far as we know, the hospital is not only for scrotum-specific injuries.

Yikes!! 

Cute couple

I thought this was just extremely cute.  It seems that Carlos and Fernando are celebrating their fifth anniversary together.  That’s probably miraculous enough these days, but Carlos and Fernando are two male flamingos.  Carlos and Fernando live at the Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust in Gloucestershire.  “They only have eyes for each other,” said Nigel Jarrett, a keeper at the nature reserve.  It seems that Flamingos are generally monogamous during the annual breeding periods, they tend to swap partners each year. Therefore, claim the birds’ keepers, their enduring love is somewhat unique.  More from the article:

“Carlos and Fernando have been together for five years and seem very happy. They will probably stay together for the rest of their lives.”

Mr Jarret added that they appear to have been accepted by the other birds in the flock:”‘They are both large adult males, so as a partnership they are quite formidable.

‘They are not picked on by the other birds. If anything, they are afforded more respect They are very good parents and behave just as the heterosexual birds do when rearing their young.”

The pair have together raised three chicks.  [Ed. note:  They filched the eggs from some "straight" flamingoes]

(Sigh…true love it seems)

Next, it seems that Dear Leader gets a little touchy when his frequent flier miles are mentioned.
But you see, it’s not his choice.   From the article:

“The fact of the matter is, I think if you look at my track record, I’m raising a family here. When we travel, we got to travel through Secret Service, and Air Force One, that’s not my choice. I think most folks understand how hard I work and how hard this administration is working on behalf of the American people,” Obama told KMOV of St Louis. The interview was one of four sessions the White House arranged with local TV in states expected to be battlegrounds in November.

KMOV reporter Larry Conners had told Obama that some of the station’s viewers “are complaining, they get frustrated, even angered, when they see the first family jetting around, different vacations and so forth, sometimes maybe, they think, under color of state business and that you’re out of touch, that you don’t really know what they’re experiencing right now.”

“Well, I don’t know how many viewers you’re talking about that say that,” Obama countered. “We do hear from some,” replied Conners. “I hear from all kinds of viewers about everything,” Obama shot back. “I’m sure you do,” said Conners.

Nah Barry; we don’t begrudge you a vacay or two.  And we even understand that you also need that C-17 Globemaster

Plane for The Beast

traveling  with you that carries The Beast as your limo is known.  But, uh, folks do get a little pissed off at, oh, vacays to Spain, flying Bo the dawg on his own plane to Martha’s Vineyard, having to use two 747′s for a Hawaii vacation cuz Michelle doesn’t want to wait around for you.  You know there’s been that sayin’ about “everybody has to sacrifice”…remember that one?  Maybe you could lead by example.

I was simply amazed when I read this first article at The Atlantic and then went to the original article at Jezebel where it was simply titled:

This Is How Much It Costs to Own a Vagina: An Itemized List

Now I’m going to be doing a lot of copying and pasting in here and with little comment by me cuz I’m not that familiar with the uh, particular part of the female body that is disccussed.  (PHEW!  Got through that much!)

Given the national debate regarding birth control coverage, it’s increasingly clear that many people have no idea how much it costs it to own a vagina — folks are getting up in arms about the idea that the pill could set uninsured women back about $1000 a year, but in the grand scheme of things, that’s nothing. Do you even know just how much you’re shelling out for your clam? Were you aware of the fact that in your 20s alone, you will spend over $26,000 on vaginal maintenance? Herewith, we do the math on just how much that cooter is costing you.

Birth Control

Planned Parenthood may prescribe a generic b.c. pill, but it seems that for some women that just doesn’t’ do it.

many women are prescribed specific pills for specific reasons and thus, cut-rate pills are not an option. Birth control pills are made of hormones—sometimes just one hormone and sometimes a combination of two hormones (progesterone and estrogen). The combinations and sequences vary and are selected for each patient to distinctly meet her needs. For example, women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) will need a different level of hormones than other women and thus, her presciption needs to be carefully managed under a doctor’s care. The same goes with women suffering from irregular menses, dysmenorrhea, vaginal bleeding, ruptured cysts, or hemorrhagic cyst. That being said, birth control can cost a woman up to $129.99 per pill pack. Because they are taken daily like vitamins and notsimply whenever a woman has sex like Viagra, a woman goes through a pill pack every 28 days. So this is actually what Sandra Fluke meant when she testified that it would set back law students $3000 over the course of law school if insurance didn’t help defray the cost of birth control.

$129.99 a pack at 13 packs per year: $1689.87

Tampons and Maxipads (from the article)

on average, a woman will, in her lifetime, use more than 11,000 tampons or pads. That’s a lotof disposable cotton. And it’s a necessity. Could you imagine if we just free-flowed? The entire world would look like a murder scene.$6.79 per box at Drugstore.com, at 9 boxes of tampons per year: $61.11
$7.99 per package of maxi pads at Drugstore.com, at 7 packages a year: $59.43

PMS Relief

A woman’s period does not just involve blood, but also bloating, cramping, headaches, constipation, fatigue and irritability. Research shows that about 85% of women (aged 25 – 35) deal with the physical symptoms of premenstrual syndrome. Midol, the over-the-counter medication used to deal with the effects of PMS, is a common remedy.

$6.99 a bottle at Drugstore.com at 3 bottles per year: $20.97

Pelvic Exam & Pap Smear   Okay these are good-health wellness issues that really can’t be ignored.

Pelvic exams are vital to a woman’s gynecological health. A healthcare provider examines the entire pelvic area—internally and externally—to determine if there are any infections or other conditions that need to be addressed or treated. An annual pap smear will help to detect cervical cancer. Planned Parenthood—for the time being, anyway—provides this service to uninsured women for a discounted rate. Otherwise, a woman could pay upwards of $500 for an exam and lab results.

$175 at Planned Parenthood

Condoms  Yeah, I know that’s the guy’s job but…

Birth control pills do not protect against sexually transmitted diseases, so condoms play an important role in a woman’s sexual health. And while a man should certainly pitch in with this expense, it’s best to never rely on someone with a boner to be looking out for your best interest.

$17.99 per box of 36 at Drugstore.com, at 2 boxes per year:  $35.98

(The rest of it I’m just going to paste in from the Jezebel piece:)

Vagisil

“Feminine itching” is very real, and unlike with men—who think nothing of readjusting their balls mid conversation—it’s generally unheard of for women to dig at their crotches. Anti-itch creams are really the only socially acceptable way for women to handle the problem without scratching.

$6.29 per tube at Drugstore.com.

Urinary Tract Infection Remedies

UTIs are more common in women than men, partially because a woman’s urethra is shorter than a man’s, and as a result the bacteria has a shorter distance to travel to reach the bladder. Additionally, the urethral opening in a woman is much closer to the rectum than that in a man, meaning that the E. Coli that live in the lower intestine has a better chance at making it into a woman’s urethra. The treatment for UTIs, if done correctly, can be costly, between antibiotics—particularly if one is uninsured—and all-natural cranberry juice, which is about eight times as much as the better tasting, but not very helpful, cranberry juice cocktail.

$40 per prescription of generic antibiotics
$8.81 per 32 oz. bottle of all-natural cranberry juice at Amazon.com

Yeast infection

Studies show that about 75% of all women have a yeast infection at some point in their lives. While over-the-counter medications are used to treat yeast infections, women should confirm her diagnosis with a doctor before treatment, to rule out any other conditions. That can be upwards for $200 at a regular doctor’s office, without insurance, but Planned Parenthood offers discounted rates for yeast infection screenings.

$16.68 for Monistat at Drugstore.com
$90 for a Planned Parenthood screening

Pubic Hair Removal

Recent studies indicate that most women, aged 18 – 39, engage in pubic hair removal—whether partial or total—through various methods (waxing, shaving, laser removal). A 2009 survey released by the American Laser Centers claimed that the average woman shaves 12 times a month, spending about $15.95. Women who are committed to waxing do so every 6 weeks.  [Ed. note:  I read some place where men are beginning to go with the bikini wax thing too!]    Ah, here we go.

$35 per waxing at 9 times per year: $315
$15.95 for shaving products per month at 12 times per year: $191.40

Toilet Paper

Because women use toilet paper every time they go to the bathroom—for urination and defecation—they use at least twice the amount of toilet paper than men, if not significantly more. (Unfortunately, no studies have been done at this time regarding this difference in usage.) So if one man uses an average of one roll of toilet paper per week, it can be safely assumed that a woman would go through at least two rolls per week.

$11.99 per 9 pack at Drugstore.com, at 12 packs per year: $143.88

So, when all is said and done, examined, tweezed, waxed, etc., the total comes to : $2663.02/p.a.

Now, Ms Morrisseey adds in what she calls variables which I’ll include below:

Variables

Owning a vagina is a lot like owning a car: Even though you have a set amount of expenses when it comes to care and maintenance, sometimes we have accidents and need to draw on a rainy day fund.

• Emergency Contraception: $50 without insurance
• Pregnancy Test: $15
• Abortion: $400 through Planned Parenthood
  $1500 without insurance through a private provider

Variables Total: $465 – $1565

And as Jen Doll wrote in The Atlantic about the article:

And then there are the “woman” costs that go beyond this list: Like makeup, cosmetic treatments and surgery, clothing and handbags, among other personal products for women that often cost more than those, if there are such, for men. Some of these things are necessary and some are less so.

And further as Ms Doll says, y’all have to buy all of this on less money:

But beyond any of the things women buy because they’re women, there’s still a wage gender gap and problems of unequal pay compounding the problem

  It just doesn’t seem fair.  But y’all knew that already.

Now, what do you all have on your minds this evening?

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