Enjoy Intimacies

January 21, 2009
7:00 pmto8:30 pm

Meetings hosted monthly by Karen Kreps, author of
Intimacies: Secrets of Love, Sex & Romance.

Cover of the book, Intimacies: Secrets of Love, Sex & Romance by Karen Kreps

Buy the book for you, someone you love or a friend who could use it.

The Intimacies Conversation Group is sponsored by
Good Life Magazine logo.

At our last meeting, on Nov 12, we were talking about “Sexual Energy”

Next Meeting:

January 21, “Love in the Recession”

7 pm at BookPeople.

Read the Event News

Since 2002, minds have been opened by Karen Kreps’s insights about love and lovers, shared in monthly columns for The Good Life magazine and hosted the related public conversation group that meets monthly at public groups she organizes at BookPeople to discuss these personal topics.   an independent bookseller in Austin, Texas. Her book, Intimacies: Secrets of Love, Sex & Romance, contains a collection of her columns and is illustrated with photographs of figurative sculpture by her husband, Arye Shapiro.

Karen is an advocate for giving voice to what needs to be said, even it it breaks a taboo or two. Read her blog below, come to the meeting listed above, and get satisfaction between the covers of her book.

Please tell us what you think of the book, the column or the meetings. Leave a comment below. (If comment form isn’t showing below,  please click on the title of this post and it will appear in the new page.)

A Side-splittingly Funny Wedding Video

Whether this is real or fake, it is SO funny. Everyone gets so jittery at weddings. Let’s hope this never happens to you.

We’ll be in a SXSW Interactive Core Conversation

March 14, 2009 10:00 amtoMarch 17, 2009 4:00 pm

I’m delighted to announce that I’ve been invited to host a Core Conversation at the SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin, Tx in March 13-17, 2009  (date and time of the event, TBA).  The topic will be “Sex Ed Online: How Teens Self Savvy,” and joining me in presenting this hour-long conversation will be Karen Rayne, PhD. She is an expert in adolescent development and education who teaches workshops and counsels parents and teens on human sexuality.

Some of the questions I’ll be asking Karen:

1. What do teens want to know about sex?
2. How do they use the Internet to find answers?
3. Which social media tools provide the best sexual education?
4. What positive or negative impact can the Web have on teen sexuality?
5. At what ages should online use by children and teens be monitored?
6. Are parents abdicating their roles as sex educators to the Internet?
7. Does online info encourage or discourage sexual experimentation by teens?
8. What role does the Internet play in educating youth about sex?
9. Can the government regulate online sex education and should it?
10. Can online sex info be trusted for accuracy?

Thanks to everyone who commented on the SXSW panel picker in support of my proposal. They  received more than 1300 panel proposals for the 2009 South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Festival. Most of these ideas are extremely impressive in their analysis of current (and future!) issues in the new media landscape. In lieu of a panel, I was invited to host a more intimate Core Conversation. This will have a format much like the monthly meetings I host at BookPeople. At a SXSW Core Conversation, there’ll be 30-50 people seated and standing around a round table with one or two presenters. I’m excited that Karen Rayne and I will have the opportunity to talk on this personal topic with the  web developers and digital creatives who attend this conference.

Now I’m very challenged to learn more about the subject. Please share your thoughts and insights into how the Web is changing how and what adolecents know about sex and sexuality.

First Quarter Intimacies Group Lineup

January 21, 2009
7:00 pmto8:30 pm
February 18, 2009
7:00 pmto8:30 pm
March 18, 2009
7:00 pmto8:30 pm

We’ve got an exciting lineup planned for programs in the first quarter of 2009. The events are sponsored by The Good Life magazine and all occur on the third Weds of each month, 7 pm at BookPeople.

In January, we’ll be talking about “Love in the Recession” with my special guest, Claire Miner PhD.

In February, we’ll be talking about “Reading Erotica” with author and former lit teacher Hapax Legomenon.

In March, we’ll be talking about “Playful and Spontaneous Romance” with improv coach and performer Shana Merlin.

Start sending in your questions for these folks now.

Contraceptive Shenanigans

Chocolate flavored condom in wrapperSitting on my desk in artfully designed shiny foil wrappers are chocolate-, grape- and banana-flavored condoms. They were gifts from the good folk at Planned Parenthood, where I recently met with a group of sex-health educators. Since condoms are the most reliable available and reliable protection against unwanted pregnancy and STDs, Planned Parenthood is running a campaign to change the image of the rubber. It got me thinking…

What are the various was in which people can have fun with contraceptives? Must contraceptives be seen as a turn-off, however necessary, or are the part of the collection of toys in your pleasure chest? I’m collecting real-life anecdotes and suggestions, and I welcome yours. The compiled results will likely show up in a future “Intimacies” column I’ll write in The Good Life (names may be withheld on request). What memorable experiences have you had with any form of contraception?

Sexual Energy. Talk about it Nov 12 at BookPeople

November 12, 2008
7:00 pmto8:30 pm

Join The Good Life columnist Karen Kreps and special guest, Gayle Michaels, for a conversation about how to have more sexual energy and derive more pleasure from it. Gayle founded the Institute of Intimate Wisdom and has much to say about how diet and lifestyle choices can affect one’s sexual prowess.

Meet the second Wednesday (not our normal night), November 12, 2008, 7 pm-8:30 pm on the third floor of BookPeople, 603 N. Lamar.  Audience members will be encouraged to share their personal experiences.  No charge, just   bring your sense of humor and an open mind.

To join the email announcement list for this group, send email to p2paustin-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
This event is co-sponsored by The Good Life magazine and BookPeople.  For more information, see http://trueintimacies.com.

Photos from Oct 16 BookPeople event with Frank Butterfield

Sign advertising Intimacies Group, Oct 16, 7 pm at BookPeople

Frank Butterfield was my special guest at BookPeople, talking about “Attracting Love” with the Law of Attraction.

Intimacies group at BookPeople Oct 16, 2008.

Some of the crowd that turned out for the event. As the host, I stand in the middle, in front of Frank.

Craigslist.com’s Craig Newmark Tells Karen about Matches Made on his List

 Ted Fry of the Seattle Times says:

Craigslist has become so deeply rooted in the social fabric of community and relationships that it’s not even product placement when it pops up as a movie’s plot point. We understand implicitly that it’s the place to go when you need a job, a couch or, in the case of “In Search of a Midnight Kiss,” a little companionship.”

Poster of Craig Newmark talkAt the Frances Moody Newman Distinguished Lecture Series featuring Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist — one of the most-visited sites on the Web in all time–I got to see and talk to Craig at the University of Texas as Austin. Listen to our exchange in which I asked him about the matches made on his list and if he’s ever used his own list to get a date.

Sexually Compulsive and Addicted Men

I just got an email from A. Michael Johnson, Ph.D., who was my special guest at BookPeople last March. We had a fascinating conversation about satisfying the libido.

He’s now pleased to announce the dates of this season’s Workshops for Sexually Compulsive and Addicted Men.  These workshops are designed for men new to recovery, men struggling to maintain sexual sobriety, or men undecided as to whether they are sexually addicted.  It may benefit your clients, patients or others you know who struggle with out of control and destructive sexual behavior.  This is the eighth year of this program.

The dates for these 3-day workshops are:
November      14-16 - 2008
March              6- 8 -  2009

A printable flyer may be downloaded from  www.sexual-addict.com/Flyer2008-2009a.pdf .

The workshops are held in beautiful, historic, downtown Austin, Texas.

To learn more about the workshops or sexual addiction go to www.sexual-addict.com.

Contact Dr. Michael Johnson directly at 512 928 4357 or doctor@sexual-addict.com.

For those in the Austin area, Dr. Johnson offers Ongoing, Process Group for Sexually Compulsive and Addicted Men.

www.sexual-addict.com
Austin, Texas
512 928 4357

I haven’t a clue about how many men out there are sexually addicted, but I suspect it’s widespread and highly closeted. If this speaks to you or someone you know, please take action or pass it on.

Attracting Love with the Law of Attraction, Oct 16 at BookPeople

October 16, 2008
7:00 pmto8:30 pm

The “Intimacies” Discussion Group
Attracting Love
Join The Good Life columnist Karen Kreps and special guest, Frank Butterfield, for a conversation about how to attract your perfect mate and create the union you want together. Frank is a channel and intuitive who coaches clients and groups on harnessing the power of the Law of Attraction.

Meet THURSDAY (not our normal night), October 16, 2008, 7 pm-8:30 pm on the third floor of BookPeople, 603 N. Lamar.  Audience members will be encouraged to share their personal experiences.  No charge, just   bring your sense of humor and an open mind.

To join the email announcement list for this group, send email to p2paustin-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

This event is co-sponsored by The Good Life magazine and BookPeople.  For more information, see http://trueintimacies.com.