Blog Posts by EMandLO.com

Dear Em & Lo,

I've been in a serious, committed relationship with a gorgeous woman for almost a year. We first met as friends and then somehow found ourselves being more than friends after 9 months or so. During that time, we learned much about what makes the other tick. We have found our personalities, including our sexual appetites and interests,to be very compatible. We communicate well and have been very good about helping each other understand one another. Our lives together have been great including the sex (frequent with lots of O's). Here's how she's stumped me during sex: a couple of times after she has orgasmed strongly during vaginal intercourse, she's then bursts into tears. As a guy, I'm a bit freaked (did I do something?) but she tells me that it feels chemically triggered. We take the time to settle back into the groove (she doesn't want to stop) and then continue almost as if nothing has happened. Do you have any idea what could be going on?

--Tears in

Total nudity is not always a prerequisite for great sex: leftover clothes give the sex a sense of urgency and spontaneity, like you wanted each other so badly that there was simply no time to brush your teeth, disrobe, and get under the covers. Or like you're doing it outside and you've got to stay partially clothed in case you have to make a quick getaway -- except you're not actually outside, so you don't have to worry about frostbite and/or mosquitoes. But gentlemen? The socks don't count.

More from EM & LO:

• Em & Lo's Worst Ever Rom Coms
• Em & Lo's Top 10 Overrated Rom Coms
• Em & Lo's Top 10 Old School Rom Coms
• Em & Lo's Top 10 Overlooked Rom Coms
• Em & Lo's Top 10 Alt Rom Coms A.K.A. Chick Flicks Guys Dig
• Em & Lo's Top 10 Classic Romantic Comedies

• Poll: Picking Each Other's Zits... True Love or Truly Disgusting?
• Poll: What Do You Think About Threesomes?

• Wise Guys: What Do Men Think About When

Advice from three of our guy friends. This week they answer the following: "If guys had to choose between only intercourse or only ----- s for the rest of their life, which do you think most guys would choose?"

Straight Single Guy (L.A. Chris): I think most guys would choose ----- s, but they really should be choosing intercourse. BJs are the best thing to happen to sex since sliced bread, but with added perks (let's just say it's like taking your car in for an oil change and getting a free car wash). Most men don't get as many ----- s in their daily routine as they'd like, so the prospect of guaranteed hummers for life is a dream come true. But it's a devil's bargain. ----- s are awesome, but they're unsubstantial -- mere icing on the cake. And a man can't feel truly satisfied on a diet of sugar frosting alone. At some point he's going to want to connect meaningfully with his partner. And by the time he gets to be 30 or 40 he may even want to have a baby. (Yes, men have

If we all followed the golden rule of reciprocity in bed, we think there'd be more sex, more orgasms, less bickering, fewer sex advice columnists (we'd be out of a job!), and possibly even world peace. Remember, if your partner tickles your back, it's not just because they're being nice -- they want you to tickle their back, too. And anything tactile, whether it's a back massage or a nipple tweak or oral sex, feels better when you don't have to ask for it.

So tell us, what does your partner do to you that you think they might like a little more of themselves? And what do you do to your partner that you wish they would pick up the hint and do to you?

More from EM & LO:

• Em & Lo's Worst Ever Rom Coms
• Em & Lo's Top 10 Overrated Rom Coms
• Em & Lo's Top 10 Old School Rom Coms
• Em & Lo's Top 10 Overlooked Rom Coms
• Em & Lo's Top 10 Alt Rom Coms A.K.A. Chick Flicks Guys Dig
• Em & Lo's Top 10 Classic Romantic Comedies

In honor of Valentine's Day, we're doing a week of lists dedicated to the film-genre equivalent of those little heart candies: the romantic comedy. We've covered classic rom coms, alternative love stories, the best overlooked ones, romantic comedies from the olden days, and the most overrated ones. Earlier today, we gave you the 7 actors who should not be allowed to make another romantic comedy again by listing their body of sappy work. And now, we close out the series with the 25 remaining worst rom coms ever made. We saved them for last since you wouldn't have time to Netflix these for Valentine's Day anyway. (Remember, if you don't see your all-time most-hated rom com below, it's probably here.)

1. Forgetting Sarah Marshall - How this predictable and unfunny movie got any favorable reviews is beyond us. We think people have just gone Apatow crazy. Usually any movie that has full frontal male nudity automatically gets a thumbs up from us, but even that can't make us care

In honor of Valentine's Day, we're doing a week of top ten lists dedicated to the film-genre equivalent of those little heart candies: the romantic comedy. Last Friday, it was classic rom coms; Monday, it was alternative love stories; Tuesday we listed the best overlooked ones; and yesterday we covered romantic comedies from the olden days. Today, we continue with the most overrated romantic comedies, all of which break the cardinal rule of rom coms: make the protagonists actually likable. We're sure you'll disagree with some of them. (Even Em disagrees with most of them, though she admits her standards are pretty low when it comes to rom coms.)

1. My Big Fat Greek Wedding - How the eff is this the biggest grossing romantic comedy of all time? Why the heck was it nominated for a Best Screenwriting Oscar? It was freaking unwatchable! Neither of us can even remember the plot because it was so traumatically bad we've blocked it out. All we can remember is the absolute emptiness we felt when it was finally over (or was that when we finally walked out of the theater?).
2. Love Actually - Misogyny coated in a layer of sickly sweet sappiness. Every single female character in this movie is a loser who needs a man like a fish needs a set of gills. Proof that there is still a need for feminism in the Western world.
3. Jerry Maguire - It was okay, but worth five Academy Award nominations, including best actor and best film? What's the BFD? So it had some cute catchphrases: "help me help you", "show me the money", "you complete me". But catchphrases are for commercials. We'll take "Where's the beef?" over "You had me at hello" any day.
4. Four Weddings and a Funeral - If Hugh Grant got together with Kristin Scott Thomas at the end of this movie, then it might have ended up on our Top 10 Classic Rom Coms lists. But the fact that he ends up with the totally unlikeable ass played poorly by Andie MacDowell makes it a loser.
5. Sideways - We're supposed to feel sympathy for a pretentious lush and a shameless, selfish cheater? Pass us a bottle of Merlot, stat!

EMandLO.com contributor Kristine deGuzman, a junior at UC Berkeley, has a confession to make:

I've shared almost everything about my sex life with my friends - they know, for example, that I discovered masturbation when I was 8 and alone with my parents' hand-held massager. And that I am prone to squirt during sex. I'm guessing they would tell you that I don't know how much information constitutes T.M.I.

You say over-sharing, I say, what's the big deal? I just don't get why so many of my peers treat their sex lives like their bowel movements - something we all know is going on but don't feel comfortable enough to discuss with company. I especially don't see the point of trying to hide your sex life when you're in college, because if you're seeing someone in college, it's almost a given that you're getting into each other's pants.

Most people I've come across either giggle or act a bit awkward when I cross that T.M.I. line, though I have discovered that with a little push, a good number of people dive right over with me. Let's take a girl I know from back home. We went through 13 years of private Catholic school together and she's always been known to be a prude. I saw her over Winter Break, and over coffee, she managed to let slip that she recently started having sex. This is pretty much how our conversation went:

In honor of Valentine's Day, we're doing a week of top ten lists dedicated to the film-genre equivalent of those little heart candies: the romantic comedy. Last Friday, it was classic rom coms; Monday, it was alternative love stories; Tuesday we listed the best overlooked ones. Today, we continue with old school classics made before we were born. We haven't actually seen all of these - this list is more aspirational, based on movie reviews and recommendations we've culled from various sources (friends, family, Rotten Tomatoes, movie nerds…). You know, these are the ones we feel like we should get around to Netflixing at some point.

1. It Happened One Night (1934) - You've heard of director Frank Capra? Well this was one of his babies. It was the first movie to receive all five major Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Clark Gable), Best Actress (Claudette Colbert), and Best Adapted Screenplay. 'Nuff said.
2. Top Hat (1935) - Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire dance their way to love in this musical comedy of mistaken identity which features some of Irving Berlin's best songs.
3. Bringing Up Baby (1938) - Cary Grant is the straight-laced scientist and Katherine Hepburn is the zany free spirit. Together, they go in search of a lost leopard named Baby and fall in love along the way. The term "screwball comedy" usually sends up red flags, but perhaps it meant something different way back when.
4. The Philadelphia Story (1940) - First it was a Broadway hit with Katherine Hepburn. According to Rotten Tomatoes, "she acquired the screen rights, claimed the starring role, and chose the director [George Cukor], screenwriter, and lead cast," which includes Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart (in an Oscar-winning role). Pretty cool.
5. His Girl Friday (1940) - Another "screwball" comedy starring Cary Grant. This time, it's a battle of the sexes between him and Rosalind Russel. According to Rotten Tomatoes, it's got some of "the fastest dialogue ever filmed (peppered with inspired ad-libbing by Grant and Russell, each appearing at comedic high points in their careers)." We'd like to see a remake: "My Boy Monday."