Leisure
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | May 18, 2010 | Leisure, The V-Spot
For the past column, “Ahoy, Mateys! A Captain’s Guide to His Semen,” I was looking for an answer to a reader’s question about how to increase the volume of his ejaculate. While bulking him up with quite a load… of information, I stumbled...
by James Heflin | May 18, 2010 | Leisure
A couple of summers back, I cobbled together transportation of a different, hybrid sort. I procured a half-century-old cruiser bicycle, a swank, if particularly heavy, choice. I needed something that could make it through the Meadows section of Northampton that runs...
by Tom Vannah | May 20, 2010 | Leisure
As an avid cyclist, I love bike paths and fully support the “rails to trails” movement that is reclaiming abandoned railroad corridors for the purpose of non-motorized travel. Indeed, I have spent many happy hours on bike paths—or rail...
by James Heflin | May 20, 2010 | Leisure
Easthampton’s Manhan Rail Trail offers riders a chance to take in a particularly telling series of tableaux. Ride the trail, and you’ll get a tour of old and new Easthampton. Bike trails often offer seclusion and a close-in tunnel of greenery that...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | May 28, 2010 | Leisure, The V-Spot
Pride season is here! A bi-coastal girl, I’m most familiar with the GLBTQ (gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, queer) Pride festivals in San Francisco and in our quaint little town of Northampton. San Francisco Pride is a massive affair of rainbows, ass-less chaps...
by Tom Vannah | May 28, 2010 | Leisure
The great landscape designer Fredrick Law Olmsted referred to it as “furniture”: the broad category of man-made objects—sculptures, benches, bridges and fountains—that appear in otherwise “natural” park settings. Though surely not...
by Mark Roessler | May 28, 2010 | Leisure
At nearly a mile in length, the Hadley Common is the longest in New England. It’s a magnificent swath of clipped grass, manicured trees, tucked-away fountains and well-positioned benches. It’s idyllic and sublime—but for the four lanes of heavy...
by Mark Roessler | Jun 3, 2010 | Leisure
Some of America’s oldest buildings are in New England. Along with split-ranches and capes, most towns have colonial homes, Industrial Age train stations, Victorian mansions and turn-of-last-century granite banks. Fortune has treated them all differently. Some...
by Mark Roessler | Jun 4, 2010 | Leisure
Ever wonder why so many roads in the Pioneer Valley are so wide? Drive on Route 5 between Northampton and Holyoke or Route 10 between Easthampton and Northampton, and running alongside two lanes of traffic is an equally large breakdown lane. Less than a century ago,...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Jun 18, 2010 | Leisure, The V-Spot
Missionary can be cozy, comfortable and just the uncomplicated, satisfying position you need after a long workday. Even if you are feeling the universal sexual urge to “mix it up,” it can seem like Mission Impossible to get out of Missionary. Well, you...
by Yanna Tallon-Hicks | Jul 1, 2010 | Leisure, The V-Spot
I wouldn’t dare call JimmyJane’s Form Series “toys.” Sure, technically they’re sex toys. But when JimmyJane’s (jimmyjane.com) founder Ethan Imboden and designer Yves B?har knocked the mental boots, an entirely different sexcessory...
by Mark Roessler | Jul 13, 2010 | Leisure
Summertimes in the mountains around Charlemont used to be peaceful for the birds. Located on the Deerfield River and nestled halfway between Greenfield and North Adams, Charlemont’s year-round bird population knew if they wanted their birdcalls heard in the...
by Mark Roessler | Jul 15, 2010 | Leisure
The following are a selection of small, local museums we’ve either visited or have been recommended to us as being particularly curious. The list is not intended to be conclusive.The Hadley Farm MuseumRte 9 and Rte 47Hadley, MAwww.hadleyfarmmuseum.orgHatfield...
by Mark Roessler | Aug 5, 2010 | Leisure
Long ago, in the days before the Internet, I lived with my wife in the city of Dover, N.H. As she went to grad school at the University of New Hampshire, I worked in copy shops along the seacoast. We loved our apartment in a stately old Victorian house, and the...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Aug 12, 2010 | Leisure, The V-Spot
I love getting people off. There’s something about the moment you glimpse that final spark in their eye before everything clicks and ah-hah! insecurities and hesitations melt away and it suddenly all makes sense. I’ve witnessed these climaxes in people 18...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Aug 19, 2010 | Leisure, The V-Spot
Sure, KY lube is enticing with those commercials where a shy couple simply touches the bottle and, pow! A suggestive hurricane hits, resulting in a pair of dazed looks and rumpled hair. Good thing they came up with that “Yours + Mine” formula, because what...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Aug 26, 2010 | Leisure, The V-Spot
You’ve never been to a sex toy store. Or, maybe you went into one when you turned 18, just because you could. You laughed at the toys, flipped through some dirty books and left. Or you went to one a while ago (just to see what it was like), but didn’t like...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Sep 2, 2010 | Leisure, The V-Spot
Everyone’s always looking for the G-spot. With its reputation, who wouldn’t? So boys, how would you feel if I told you that you had a G-spot equivalent—the P-spot, which can lead to longer, stronger and multiple male orgasms? Now what if I told you...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Sep 9, 2010 | Leisure, The V-Spot
If you read last week’s column (and did your homework) you’re probably at least intrigued about the male G-spot (the prostate, or P-spot), and, hopefully, those pesky myths about taking it up the you-know-what (it’s “gay”,...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Sep 16, 2010 | Leisure, The V-Spot
Excuses: unfortunately, that’s what many hear when it’s time to put on that condom. Who knew a little latex could be responsible for sensation loss, erectile dysfunction or inability to “really connect,” or that it could even make sex...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Sep 23, 2010 | Leisure, The V-Spot
Usually when one hears the word “porn,” intimate kissing scenes between real couples or romantic dramas aren’t what come to mind. Though the readily available “wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am” adult flicks can be hot, they aren’t for...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Sep 30, 2010 | Leisure, The V-Spot
Whew! Dr. Arnold Kegel sure knows how to work out a girl’s vagina! Now, get your minds out of the gutter, dear readers, (this isn’t a porn script)—I’m talking about Kegel exercises. As they caused quite a stir a while back, you may have heard...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Oct 7, 2010 | Leisure
Not much can make me jealous of you penis-toting folks. I heart my vagina–complicated orgasms, periods, hidden G-spot and all. When it comes time for a little… me time… I’ve got vibrators, dildos and hands to play with plus many more nerve...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Oct 14, 2010 | Leisure, The V-Spot
When people find out that I write about sex toys, they lean in to whisper the inevitable question: “So what’s the best?” Especially when it comes to vibrators, they’re always looking for The One, the guaranteed insta-orgasm. Though I hate to...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Oct 21, 2010 | Leisure, The V-Spot
Like many queer Northamptonites, I regularly pay my dues to the dance floors at Diva’s. When it’s time to do my private business, it warms my heart to see signs informing the club’s multi-gendered clientele that both bathrooms are open to everyone...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Oct 28, 2010 | Leisure, The V-Spot
So you want to get spanked. Maybe called some dirty words. You want to get tied up, see her in a cheerleader’s uniform or bark like a dog for him. The easy answer is “Just do it,” but this isn’t a Nike ad, this is your sex life. And the fear...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Nov 4, 2010 | Leisure, The V-Spot
After last week’s column, you and your partner are ready to get spicy. As one of the most common and multifaceted fetishes, you may be considering BDSM (bondage and discipline/domination and submission/sadism and masochism). Despite what many believe, BDSM is...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Nov 11, 2010 | Leisure, The V-Spot
Thanks to a little annoyance called biology, menopause changes female terrain pretty drastically. It’s understandable that post-menopausal dryness, soreness and tightening and deterioration of the inner vaginal walls may make sex more mentally and physically...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Nov 18, 2010 | Leisure, The V-Spot
Hi ,Yana. First I want to say I think your column rocks. Initially I was like, “Gasp! Where is Ask Isadora?” Then I read what you had to say, and I was like, “Hey, that was actually pretty good and informative.” I read this week’s P-Spot...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Nov 25, 2010 | Leisure, The V-Spot
…but it doesn’t have to. Sure, for some, three’s a crowd. But for others, three’s a party. And a party’s always better with a little planning. Though there are all kinds of threesomes, I’m focusing on the couple/third-wheel variety,...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Dec 2, 2010 | Leisure, The V-Spot
It’s no longer breaking news—in just the last few months, seven young gay/queer men have taken their own lives after being homophobically bullied. And though I’d love to write the usual column about cockrings or strap-ons, it can’t go...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Dec 9, 2010 | Leisure, The V-Spot
Though I don’t get these myself, from what I understand, erections are all about blood flow. Blood flows in, penis becomes erect, blood flows out, things get a little droopy. Unfortunately, tides change frequently and are hard to control. However, cockrings are...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Dec 16, 2010 | Leisure, The V-Spot
Though I am a let-it-all-hang-out, sex-revolution-encouraging sex columnist, I do understand that not everyone has the privilege of leaving their dildos in the dishwasher, their restraints attached to their bedposts and their favorite vibe in their purse “just...
by Mark Roessler | Dec 16, 2010 | Leisure
This is a companion piece to a review of collaborative games. Prior to the game, prepare a deck of cards which will determine the roles played. You need as many cards as there are players, with four cards being different from the rest. Take an ordinary deck of playing...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Dec 16, 2010 | Leisure, The V-Spot
I once made the mistake of telling a guy that not everyone likes having their G-spot touched. He stared at me with what could only be hatred for dispelling the myth that the G-spot is the be-all-end-all of female orgasms, the turbo switch, the one thing between him...
by Mark Roessler | Dec 23, 2010 | Leisure
One of the reasons Timothy Leary was so hot for folks to try LSD during the cultural revolutions of the 1960s was that he felt world peace could be achieved if everyone shared the revelations the hallucinogen had given him. Life is all a game, he had discovered. Or,...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Dec 30, 2010 | Leisure, The V-Spot
The giving season is upon us. And we generous sex partners love to give. The thrifty side of me thinks the best sex-related gifts are porns or books about something you want to try with your sweetie (think Tristan Taormino’s Expert Guide to Threesomes or The...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Feb 1, 2011 | Leisure, The V-Spot
Ah, the blow job. Somewhere on the road to sex-god(ess), between reading the Kama Sutra and installing the sex swing, the once terrifying adolescent sexual initiation rite sadly becomes a mere pit stop between a faltering erection and penetrative sex. Big mistake. You...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Feb 10, 2011 | Leisure, The V-Spot
Babies seem determined to destroy the very thing that created them: your sex life. Yes, they’re awfully adorable. But don’t let the googoos and gagas fool you—even the baby talk itself can and will be used against you. Luckily, with a...
by Tom Vannah | Feb 17, 2011 | Leisure
It’s been a dandy winter so far—if you like to play in the snow, that is. Given some of the recent winters in which Mother Nature seemed a bit stingy with the white fluffy stuff here in Western Mass., the heavy snowfall this January was a source of great...
by Bob Weiss | Feb 17, 2011 | Leisure
Ski equipment was first depicted on rock drawings in Norway some 4,500 to 5,000 years ago. Fortunately, the equipment has evolved from the primitive wooden planks with leather straps into the easy and comfortable skis and boots we have today. Over the years, some of...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Feb 17, 2011 | Leisure, The V-Spot
I used to be one of those serial friend-fuckers. I was that girl—the universal sexual link who didn’t seem to know the meaning of “platonic.” Whether the people in my close circle of friends turned into long-term partners, one-night stands or...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Feb 24, 2011 | Leisure, The V-Spot
After the column covering blow-job basics (“Bon(e) Appetit,” December 30, 2010), readers have been chomping at the cunnilingus bit. This makes me both smile and cringe. Smile because nothing’s better than an eager muff-diver and cringe because...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Mar 3, 2011 | Leisure
When getting busy with an au naturel phallic object, you zip down that fly, assess the situation and adjust accordingly—playing towards your biological endowment’s innate size, curve, strengths and weaknesses. When shopping for a human-made, boxed phallic...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Mar 10, 2011 | Leisure, The V-Spot
The perfect harness to your favorite dildo is like sunshine to your picnic, chocolate chips to your cookie, gel-based lube to your… you get the idea. Time to learn the ropes (well, straps) of harness buying. Do you only knock the vegan boots or would you rather...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Mar 18, 2011 | Leisure, The V-Spot
Once upon a time, in a big bed far away, there was a princess who wanted to use a sex toy with her partner. But when she broached the subject, all her partners feared that they would be replaced by a sex toy! The first little partner said, “If you want me to...
by Daniel Platt | Apr 7, 2011 | Leisure
A small crowd had started to gather. Mostly men in their forties, fifties and sixties, they circled around one end of a long collapsible table and studied the board. Alexander George, cocooned within a gray cardigan, sage-colored scarf and black baseball cap, pondered...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Apr 7, 2011 | Leisure, The V-Spot
With my sketchy “open relationship” track record, you’d be foolish to take non-monogamous advice from me. In theory, I get it. But in practice… So instead of my advice, I’ll give you a bit of an open relationship book report on Tristan...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | May 17, 2011 | Leisure, The V-Spot
“Drop those pants.” “Roll over.” “Bottoms up!” You Tops think you’re soooo special with your cocky attitudes, sexual demands and complicated rope knots. Well, let me tell you, dears, Topping is about more than just getting...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Jun 10, 2011 | Leisure, The V-Spot
For those sneaking peeks at the Advocate’s back section who maybe shouldn’t be: It may be hard to believe but I, too was born a virgin. Though it’s an amusing thought, I didn’t waddle around as a toddler handcuffing my stuffed animals and...
by Yanna Tallon-Hicks | Jun 24, 2011 | Leisure, The V-Spot
Many of you Valley Advocate readers turn to this back section under the pretense that you’re brushing up on your weekly horoscope. Though I enjoy reading Rob Brezsny as much as the next wandering soul, you have to admit, it’s also a good excuse to peek at...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Jun 30, 2011 | Leisure, The V-Spot
The hand job is like blow job’s annoying cousin you have to hang out with sometimes. It doesn’t have any real fans. You won’t see many HJs in pornos whispering the phrase, “Hey, baby—how about a nice hand job for your birthday?” Why...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Jul 7, 2011 | Leisure, The V-Spot
At the sex toy store I worked at, it wasn’t uncommon for men to walk in, look around at the vibrators, harnesses and dildos and ask, “What’s in this for me and my penis? How do we get off around here?” The obvious answers are masturbation...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Jul 14, 2011 | Leisure, The V-Spot
You’re feeling a little curious. You’ve been casually asking questions, maybe doing a little Internet research. You’ve probably come across answers like “Only when I’m drunk” and “Only around my boyfriend” and a little...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Jul 21, 2011 | Leisure, The V-Spot
Three short months after meeting my wife-to-be in San Francisco, I was forced, kicking and screaming, back to the East Coast where I had started, and needed to finish, my undergrad degree. Four months and 3,000 miles apart on a college student’s budget is a...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Jul 28, 2011 | Leisure, The V-Spot
Let’s state the obvious first. Yes, Cancer’s (June 22nd — July 22nd) astrological symbol looks a lot like a popular little sexualized numeral called 69. Though this does make for an unfortunate tattoo, it doesn’t say much about Cancer’s...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Aug 4, 2011 | Leisure, The V-Spot
Hi, Yana! Thank you so much for writing this wonderful article (V-Spot, “Feminist Porn,” May 5, 2011). I am an educated heterosexual feminist woman in my mid-20s and am so sick of subjecting myself to the porn I find on the Internet, which constantly...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Aug 11, 2011 | Leisure, The V-Spot
The many fans of past column “Dildo Takes a Vacation,” April 21, 2011 (which chronicled my short-lived quest to bring my dildo to South America), know that I’m no stranger to packing it in abroad. Earlier this summer, embarking on a shorter quest to...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Aug 18, 2011 | Leisure, The V-Spot
Great sex is peppered with a lot of punctuation—slow, seductive “dot, dot, dots,” hyphens for sexual meldings like “girl-on-girl” or “penis-to-booty” and, hopefully, lots of exclamation points!!! But the punctuation mark many...
by Mark Roessler | Aug 25, 2011 | Leisure
In the middle of Casco Bay stands a fort defending Portland, Maine’s harbor. Built on the Hog Island Ledge, the massive fortification was designed to present an overwhelming array of firepower to any who dared to attack. No one ever did. In the absence of...
