From the monthly archives:

August 2009

If you’ve read (See: Does Guy-on-Guy Action Turn You On? and Do Men Look Good Naked?), you already know I like drooling at artistic male nudes. I’m getting a few photographs to mat and frame on my bathroom walls. I like the idea of buying nude art sold directly via photographers on websites and social media. You get the know the artist better. Plus, it’s easier and less expensive than getting stuff at galleries. One of my faves, deviantART, rocks — though, unfortunately, a lot of the guys are on there are, like, you know, white. Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against lighter varieties of meat. If you count all my exes from Europe as “white” then, technically, I’ve slept with more white dudes than black men. Still, that doesn’t mean I ONLY date them. Nor do I have the desire to ONLY look at their penises when I’m standing unclothed in my bathroom with fuzzy bath mat lint into between my bare toes as I get ready to enter the shower. When I find a site with an affordable, good collection of Asian, Latino, black and other colorful naughty bits for purchase, I’ll post the link. (If you know one, please share.) In the meantime, for this glorious Manly Monday, behold what has become: “The Other White Meat” collection. ;) Haven’t made any purchases yet, so let me know which photo(s) you like best. (Pssst, see my other deviantART favorites here.)


Him. by ~mistress-macabre on deviantART


Crash Dance by ~JogiART on deviantART


details of myself by !franzl on deviantART


Sneak Away — male nude 35 by ~JogiART on deviantART


Male Dreams by ~JogiART on deviantART


not another penis by ~talibstevens on deviantART


VIII by ~noir-nudes on deviantART

By the way, I asked my Twitter followers to suggest names for today’s post about pictures of white pee-pees. They came up with: The Great White Hope, White Popsicles, White Men Can’t Hump and Whitesabers. Feel free to make suggestions of your own. I need SOMETHING to say when people ask, “Um, Twanna … Why do you have a bunch of b&w photographs of white penises on your bathroom wall.” I’d like to answer, “Oh, that’s my ____ collection. You like?”

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{ 12 folks got down with the Funky Brown }

I’m not in my 40s, but I like reading MORE magazine because the tone is smart, adult and interesting. I just read this piece by Stephanie Mills, and I thought I’d share it with you. As many of you know, I’m happily childfree and I don’t have any desire to have kids. I used to say, “I’m never having children” but I’ve soften my stance in recent years. That’s not to say I’ve changed my mind … I just think words like “always” and “never” are a bit too absolute and finite. Who the hell knows what I’ll think 10 or 20 years down the road? Yeah, I mean, sure, my womb doesn’t have anything growing in it RIGHT NOW, and I’m quite happy with that. As far as I know, I’ll still be happy without children in the foreseeable future. Only time will tell. In any case, it’s interesting to read Mills’ thoughts.

Why I Chose to Be Childless“Even though my decision not to have children was made on what might be called political grounds it proved to be a good personal choice. [...] Given my particular nature, the responsibility and distraction of childrearing most likely would have prevented me from pursuing my work as a writer, which has been immensely rewarding, if difficult and uncertain much of the time [...]

[Continue reading at MORE magazine]

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{ 18 folks got down with the Funky Brown }

Just finished an article about cheap sex which ran on Huffington Post as well as Recessionwire‘s “Love in the Time of Layoff” column. If you have a chance, read it. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Speaking of publishing, I get a lot of email from Funky Brown Chick readers with questions about sex and relationships — though many messages are often about “writing.” If you’re interesting in sparking your creativity to create a book, poem, painting, new design or whatever, I recommend the workbook The Artist’s Way. It’s an easy read and it includes a bunch of exercises and activities. In particular, I was/am a big believer in their “artist dates.” The idea behind it is kind of like: Heeey, if you expend a lot of creative energy, you need to do something to replace that and build up your reservoirs again. Read a new book. See a play. Go to a movie. Check out a new TV show.

So, I just got a tip about CBS’ steamy drama, The Good Wife, with Julianna Margulies and Chris Noth, right? Here’s one of the YouTube videos about the show (made to look as if Noth’s character is an actual American politician):

Given The Good Wife is supposedly set in Chicago — a city almost 60% comprised of people of color — it would’ve been nice to see a browner cast. That said, I’m still kind of curious about that show because I’m totally intrigued (yet, admittedly, somewhat baffled) by the “stand by your man” politician wives who support their spouses through extremely public political sex scandals. Interested to see how they’ll play the scene out in the CBS drama.

I don’t watch traditional cable because Hulu, Current TV, Netflix and many of the major networks offer free, legal and high-quality programming online. I’m always excited about discovering new-to-me shows, movies or whatever. So, if CBS makes The Good Wife available streaming on their website, I’ll likely watch it. If they don’t, I won’t. But, enough about me and what I’m watching. I want to know about you. Chances are, if you like my site — and, by default, the topics I write about or (at the very least) hearing the goofy ruminations of a neurotic, funky, brown-skinned woman in New York — we might have a few things in common or, maybe, share similar interests. I’d love to know if you’ve stumbled across anything particularly fun (TV, blog, movie, whatever) recently. If so, feel free to post your jewels it in the comments section. Tell me: What do you like to watch?

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{ 7 folks got down with the Funky Brown }

Now, on a much lighter note … This sexual harassment / office humor video from Ebaums world is sooo wrong … and hilarious (h/t to @VioletBlue for the link)! If the clip above doesn’t load, you can see it on YouTube.

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{ 10 folks got down with the Funky Brown }

I rarely write about religion on my blog because I’m not particularly interested in watching right-wing fundamentalists and atheists to go at each other in my comments section. Pointless bickering isn’t my thing. Having said that … I’m writing about my church today. I don’t often go because, quite frankly, they make it so easy for me to avoid the building. If I want to hear a sermon, I can read it online, watch it on TV, listen on the radio, download the video or audio podcast or check it out on YouTube. Why make the trip to 29th St when my church’s 2.0 efforts allow me to get my prayer, meditation and spirituality on in my underwear while in the comfort of my own home?

I only decided to church in person because: (1) Pam encouraged me; (2) there was always the slim chance I might discover the man of my dreams sitting in the pew next to me; and (3) it seemed like the right thing to do. I’m glad I did because the minister made the point: Sometimes we neglect to make changes in our lives because we’re too “used to” and comfortable with where we are. Then he gave a few reasons why we might fear letting go of prejudices, relationships, people, jobs or other negative things that rob us of our joy. The lesson was: Shake it off. Wash it off. Get rid of what no longer works.

Although it’s not my favorite quality, I’m a worrier. I need to let that go. I worry my friends will all go the traditional route (marriage & kids) and we’ll grow apart and I’ll be lonely. I sometimes fear living in New York will eventually bankrupt me, and I won’t have any money saved for retirement. And, I worry men here won’t find me attractive as I get older because I’m not high maintenance enough to do botox, surgery, daily make-up applications or other bullshit stuff women do to be “beautiful.” Ridiculous, I know. But, these are the random thoughts that enter my head when I’m on my own — you know, the kind of stuff I don’t bring up publicly when I’m out for a beer with friends because I’m afraid I’ll sound silly. (I can write it here because, quite frankly, I type out my posts as if no one will ever read them. It allows me to be more honest.) Anyway. Karma, G-d, Allah, Buddha, The Universe or whatever. Doesn’t matter; they all pretty much say the same thing: Worry is futile. “Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (That’s the Bible.) “Worrying is simply praying for what I don’t want. Who wants that??” (Sati instructor Darbi Worley). Worry is like acting as a child who fears the monster under their mattress. The only way to face it is to climb down and look under the bed. If there is a monster, fucking slay it. If there isn’t one, you’ll know the fear was for naught. In either case, get on with your life. (I’m very loosely paraphrasing a message from Patricia Moreno’s Sati Life “I love my body” Warrior Body Facebook community.) So, yeah, I’m making an honest effort to stop worrying about my future. By the way, if you’re in New York, I HIGHLY recommend Darbi Worley‘s 6:45 a.m. Intensati classes in Washington Square Park. Very inspirational. Not much else to say. Just needed to get the “worry” stuff off my chest.

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{ 11 folks got down with the Funky Brown }

I’m back. Left the blog for almost a week to get some personal stuff figured out. It wasn’t anything major or whatever. Nor was it anything I want to write about publicly. Just needed some time to myself. Suffice it to say, if August proceeded the way it was supposed to (technically), I was to: fly to Illinois for BlogHer; return to the Midwest to attend my high school reunion; go to weddings in Los Angeles, The Netherlands and Denver; see Utah; and write 21 blog posts, three articles and make major progress on my book’s edits. I couldn’t / can’t do all of that. I needed a break.

Now that I’m back (at least, you know, to updating Funky Brown Chick) … First things first, I owe one of you a mug. Basically, to make it easy, I took 2 + 6 (because there were 26 comments on the post where I gave away a free mug), and I emailed the person who left the 8th comment to tell them they’ve won Funky Brown Chick swag. When/if she responds, I’ll send the mug. If she doesn’t get back to me or turns the prize down, I’ll pick a different winner.

That’s all for now. I’ve noticed, when I update the blog after being away for a bit, my posts are always really jumbled like: ooh, ooh, ooh, this is what happened on J-Date, here’s what’s going on with my matchmaker, and did you see MSNBC’s article about single black women and did I mention I’m leaving New York next week? I’ll cover all of this and more in due time.

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{ 8 folks got down with the Funky Brown }

Just wanted to say a quick “THANK YOU” for the supportive comments and feedback you’ve given about my Matchmaker session. Seriously, Funky Brown Chick has the best readers on the internet. You recently left fun, kind and encouraging comments on the blog and on my Facebook. If you’ve seen that classic Drew Barrymore romantic comedy Never Been Kissed, I feel like I’m at the end of the movie where there’s a big stadium of people cheering for me, hoping the cute guy shows up (courtesy of my matchmaker, of course).

By the way, speaking of kind words here and on Facebook, huge shout out to Funky Brown Chick readers in Australia!!!! Half dozen Aussies commented on a Facebook note I wrote about them. Great people. I’ve gotta go down under for a visit some day — especially that town called “Manly.” Sounds fun ;) I’m curious about the rest of you. If you’re not from Australia (or even if you are), please leave a comment in the section below to let me know where you are right now. As an added incentive, I’ll send a free Funky Brown Chick mug to a randomly selected person from today’s comments section. I’ll even cover it with a kiss or two before dropping it in the mail. Consider it a “Reader Appreciation” gift from me to you. By the way, this is an EXCELLENT opportunity for lurkers to dip their toes in the public comments section. No need to say much. Just a quick comment that says: “Hi from ___.” It’s always exciting to discover Funky Brown Chick readers live in Branson, Missouri; Roanoke, Virginia; Yucaipa, California and destinations outside the U.S. So, come on, why are you waiting? Your fingers are aching for you to type “hi” and, possibly, get a free coffee mug. Ready. Set. Go.

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{ 28 folks got down with the Funky Brown }

Yesterday, Simone Grant and I met up w/ each other in Midtown West. (She’s on Twitter, so am I if you want to follow.) We started telling each other New York online dating horror stories. We’ve both gone on dates with dudes who looked SIGNIFICANTLY different from their online dating profiles. “I once wrote about that in my Nerve column,” I told her. “I think I titled the piece ‘Truth in Advertising’ or whatever and the first line was something like, ‘You should look like your fucking picture!!!’” We laughed and giggled about men who show up and are virtually unrecognizable from the images they post online. Sticking with the topic, I figured I’d write about online dating profile pics on Funky Brown Chick today because I recently forwarded my matchmaker a few photos. Here’s the the inside scoop on why I selected the pictures I did:

Twanna's Online Dating Profile Photos

This is what I look like when I wake early on a Saturday morning to meet Rachel for cupcakes at Billy’s Bakery. I’m not wearing any makeup and I didn’t curl my hair. It’s an au natural snapshot taken within the last year or so. Managing expectations, you know? I’m not high maintenance. If a guy is turned off by the photo above, he probably won’t like looking at me in real life either. If he thinks the photo is cute, he’ll probably think I’m cute in person, too.

Twanna's Online Dating Profile Photos

That said, yes, I often wear make up and curl my hair. When I do, I look like this photo. Given I’m likely to do that whole “woman grooming” stuff for the first date, it’s likely I’ll look like this when my Matchmaker’s pick(s) meet me.

Twanna's Online Dating Profile Photos

I like to wear dresses.

Twanna's Online Dating Profile Photos

A lot. Like, you know, all the time. Really, I do.

Twanna's Online Dating Profile Photos

Seriously, I only own 2 – 3 pairs of jeans and 1 pair of pants. If you’ve met me or if you scroll through my Flickr photos, you’d be hard-pressed to remember me wearing anything much else than a skirt or dress on regular occasions. Plus, because the final three pics above are recent full body shots (no photoshop, taken within the past three months), the guy will get an idea of my height-weight proportions. No wonder when Funky Brown Chick readers meet me in person, they often say, “Wow, you look exactly like your pictures.” So, there you have it! I think the Matchmaker is forwarding my images to guys within the next week or so. I’ll keep you posted :)

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{ 20 folks got down with the Funky Brown }