One Year and Counting

Over a year ago we launched a new online magazine called FiXMagazine. while it has been a bumpy road and at times a challenging one, we are looking to re4veal that we are ready to roll out the new elements of the site. while there has been tons of support in the way of you the readers keeping things going and spreading the word to your family. while the front door has not changed that often, there has been a lot of work on the whole in getting things ready for the big roll out. In August the FiX will be revealing a lot of the cool features that we have been working on in the past year. this is all in an effort to provide you the readers with a true fix for all your news needs. we hope you will like the changes and look forward to you joing us on this journey.

James Williams

Editor

Fix Magazine

Here we go again!

Sarah Simmons

If you have been keeping score then you know the back and fourth that has been going on about the abortion debate. If you need a refresher then look for Mike’s take on the subject.

Although rather crass, Mike does make a good point. The father does contribute to the conception of the child, however it is the mother that will get the brunt of the pain, suffering worrying, all while trying to hold down a job and keep a house.

Lets face it when a man comes home from work he is in his domain. He sits on the couch channel surfing while the woman cooks dinner, cleans the house, does the laundry and takes care of the children and any little problem that pops up. It is a very rare man that says ‘honey, let me do that.’

Statistically speaking, men leave their families when the burden gets to be too much; they can’t handle it.

It is the women that are left to deal with the aftermath. Check the child support division of any state in the US and you will find millions of cases where the woman has to chase the man for supporting ‘what he helped to create’ and then dumped because it is not what he believed it would be.

It is all well and good to have the fantasy of a perfect life. A home with the pitter patter of little feet running around, but the reality is that it takes a lot of effort and a lot of hard work to sustain it. Many men today feel that they have what it takes only to find out down the road that they do not. It is not fair to anyone.

They leave and it is the woman who has to deal with it all. It is simply not fair to say that a man will always be there because in the majority of cases, they are not.

Some women chose to eliminate this stress by terminating the pregnancy. It is her choice. It is her body, and until the time the child is born, she can do what she wants with it. The law gives her plenty of time to decide what she wants to do. It is her option whether she wants to consult the man about her decision, however ultimately it is her decision.

I am not and never will be in favor of late term abortion. I think that once the time has passed, there is no other option but to have the child, however, until that time, I believe that it is every woman’s right to choose.

Signs That Someone Likes you

Sarah Simmons

There is no surefire, 100% guaranteed way to know if someone likes you as more than a friend…and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. There are, however, certain signs you can look for that will give you a pretty good idea if your friend or aquaintance is interested in being more than friends.

Test his/her Personal Space

Everyone has something called “personal space”. It is like a bubble around us that we don’t like people trespassing into. If someone gets too close, we instinctively move away, and if they get too close again we move away again. When we are attracted to someone that bubble disappears. They can brush their thigh against ours while sitting close and we won’t jerk our leg away, they can stand close and we won’t step to the side, they can sit beside us on a long couch while watching a movie and we don’t ask them to move over. We enjoy being close to those who we are attracted to and sometimes make excuses to do so.

So, the first step in gauging whether your friend is attracted to you is to get past their “personal space” and monitor their reaction. If they move away, heed it as a warning and don’t try it again that day. Our personal space is a personal thing and many of us become annoyed if someone repeatedly invades it against our will. You can try this several times (over several days) and if he or she continues to move away as if by reflex, chances are, they are not attracted to you. This is not to stop you from trying the next test another time.

Observe Their Body Language

Is your friend exhibiting flirtatious behaviour with you? Do they find excuses to touch you, stand close, compliment you repeatedly on your appearance? Do their pupils dilate when they see you? Science has found that our pupils dilate when we are looking at someone or something we are attracted to.

Watching out for flirtatious behaviour is a good method, but it is probably the most unreliable of all that are listed. This is because some people are natural flirts, they flirt with everyone, including their friends. Also, some people are very affectionate with their friends and that could be miscontrued as flirting.

Touch his/her Hand

Another way to gauge if someone is attracted to you is to deliberately touch, or almost touch their hand. Try passing him or her something and hold it in a way that makes it difficult for them to take it without your hands touching. When they reach to take it, observe whether or not they expend any effort to touch the smallest surface area of your hand possible. If they avoid touching your hand then it could mean that they want to avoid all physical contact with you. Take it as a good sign if they linger by your hand when they touch you. Better yet, are their hands sweaty?

You could also try placing your hand very near your friend’s hand and watch to see if they move theirs away. If they are standing with a hand rested on a railing, stand next to them and rest your hand right beside theirs. If they are trying to program their DVD or CD player, help them and let your hand graze by theirs while you both play with the buttons. It would be a bad sign if they retracted their hand completely.

Watch for Changing or Strange Behaviour

Does your friend seem unusually awkward or nervous around you? Are their hands shaky or sweaty? Do they avoid talking about other guys/girls, and seem very uninterested in hearing you talk about other guys/girls that you are interested in?

Are they suddenly complimenting you more than usual? Are they only letting their best side show? Is she spending more time getting ready than usual? Is he wearing his nicest clothes and cologne…things you’ve only see him do when going on a date with other women?

Listen to What they Say

It sounds like a no brainer, but I am telling you anyway because when we like someone we tend to ignore any signs that they don’t like us and really play up any signs that they do. If your friend is saying things similar to those below then they may have picked up on your interest and are subtly hinting back that they aren’t interested in taking the friendship further.

“It is so nice to have a male/female friend who is just a friend.”

“I really like this guy/girl from work, we went out last night….”

“There is a new guy/girl at school who I am really interested in. Can you give me some advice on striking up a conversation?”

“I’m so glad we can just be friends without getting physically involved, I see so many friendships ruined because they crossed that boundary.”

“I have a friend who I’de like to set you up with, you guys would get along so well!”

CD’s the New Vinyl

I just got back from a all day shopping trip with my friends. It was crazy. One stop we made was at a record show to cruise for music. It was a CD/record show, and a bunch of vendors came, trying to sell old vinyl.

I don’t have a record player — hell, I haven’t even used one since I actually owned records which was way back… just take my word that it was a long time ago. My very first was Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time.” I was four, so I also owned a bunch of Strawberry Shortcake books on record. My mom used to own a record player, and every Christmas she would play the “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” record.

The last time I saw a record player wasn’t that long ago. I went to an indoor flea market in October, and we saw one there for $25. I thought about buying it for a minute, but that would mean I would also have to buy records. I went to a store at the flea market that sold vintage records, three for five bucks. I was thinking about how much I could get for the Doors’ self-titled record on vinyl on Ebay.

I had records when I was young, but I grew up in the time of compact discs. I owned a few tapes, but most were blanks that I used to tape songs off the radio. CDs were more my speed.

But I appreciate records now that I’m older. Of course, I still lack a turntable, and I was going to buy records for a decoration, not something to listen to. I’m probably doing a disservice to the vinyl collectors, but that’s okay. They’re looking through bins with hopes of uncovering some kind of gem. I’m just looking for one with a nice picture that is suitable for framing.

I didn’t find any, so I headed to the dollar CDs. I found The Chemistry, a band I randomly heard out about at Bamboozle a few years back. I kept looking. And then I found my gem. The Best of Hanson Live and Electric.

I’m not even kidding. I love Hanson. I saw the band’s first mall performance back in 1996, and I even used a Hanson lyric from the song “Weird” as my senior quote.“When you live in a cookie cutter world being different is a sin, so you don’t stand out and you don’t fit in.”

I was 17 and blue eyed. I was sure that I was going to change the world. I haven’t, but that’s okay. I still have time. Most of the best artwork is appreciated posthumously. I’m not planning on that happening to me, but if it does, that’s okay, too.

At least I’ll always have Hanson.

The album that I got in the dollar bin is a promo album. It doesn’t come with any of the fancy artwork, but it does come with an interesting fact on the back: Hanson has sold over 15 million albums. Fifteen million albums. And I now own four — “Middle Of Nowhere,” the band’s debut, “Snowed In,” the band’s Christmas album, “3 Car Garage,” the indie recordings and now “Live and Electric.” The other ones I actually paid full price for. Me and over 15 million other people.

It’s amazing. At the height of Hanson’s popularity, back in 1996, Isaac was 15, Taylor was probably 13 and Zak had to be around 10. The boys were writing about love before actually experiencing it. They were plastered on walls when Zak should have just been in fifth grade. Can you imagine?

I didn’t think anything of them being so young. I just liked MmmBop. It was catchy and played on the radio, and the radio was feeding me my listening candy.

I remember I had a cassette single of MmmBop, so I could play it while I was driving. A guy I used to be good friends with took the tape, cracked it in half and threw it out the window. I was so angry. That was my tape, and he ruined it. I needed my MmmBop while driving, and now I had to settle with catching it on the radio. Luckily for me, it seemed to play every other song.

The live CD, which was recorded in Melbourne, Australia in June 2005, is bringing back memories of when I watched Hanson on Saturday Night Live when I was babysitting one night. It’s letting me remember when I was young, when I had the whole world ahead of me.

Hanson did too.

I wonder if they do now.

Oh, they were such babies when mainstream media embraced them, yearned for them, needed them. Demanded them. They couldn’t be kids. They were teen idols. Their youth was stripped and replaced by popularity.

I’m not blaming anyone [[not one of those 15 million records sold, either]]. But I just never thought about how these kids [[they were kids]] were thrown into the spotlight. They grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma for goodness sake. And then they were the biggest family band since, probably, the Osmonds. I wonder how many records Donnie and Marie sold?

When Taylor [[the middle one]] was about 19, he got married to his then-pregnant girlfriend. And that’s it. He couldn’t be a kid anymore; he was having one of his own. I heard Zak, who is now 20, got engaged to his lifelong sweetheart [[and I kind of wonder how lifelong works on the road]]. It’s just making me really depressed to think about how the youth of America can strip the youth of other kids. It’s not done on purpose, but it happens.

Where’s my “Middle Of Nowhere” disc? That’s the one where Hanson sounds happy, not grown up. The band is just playing around with pop tunes. There isn’t any of the mellow/indie stuff that’s on this live album. And, for what it’s worth, the band doesn’t even sound like it’s having fun on stage. And the audience seems just as engrossed. Every so often you can hear a random scream, but it isn’t anything like the live shows I’ve been to. And there doesn’t seem to be an interaction between the band and the audience. It sounds so disconnected.

If this is what Hanson thinks is “The Best Of,” then we seriously have a problem.

How to Handle Romantic Rejection

One of our most devastating emotional experiences is the loss of a loved one. I am addressing the loss of loved one to death and through “romantic rejection” as two separate situations.

The power which we give to our love partner to determine to such a large degree our security, happiness and self-worth is largely the result of our childhood experiences and especially unfinished business with our parents. Thus we might need to also work on healing childhood experiences.

Affirmations for overcoming Romantic Rejection

Here is a list of some of the emotions we might feel when someone leaves us. Below each emotion we present some possible affirmations for getting free. These lists as always are there to guide you and never to limit you. There are many other possibilities.

1. Rejection (demeaned, worthless) because he/she does not want to be with me.

Even though until now I felt rejected (demeaned, worthless) because (name of person)____ left me, I now feel (realize, experience) my self-worth as a unique being without him/her.

2. Fear of continuing life without this person.

Even though until now I feared continuing life alone without (name of person)____ , I now feel (realize, experience) self-confidence and powerfully capable of dealing with life.

3. Fear (shame) of what others will think about me now that he/she has left.

Even though until now I feared what others would think because (name of person)____ left me , I now feel (realize, experience) my self-worth as a unique being, regardless of what they think.

4. Fear that I will not find anyone else to share my life with.

Even though until now, I feared I would not find anyone else to share my life with, I now am confident that I deserve and will attract the perfect being for me.

5. Hurt (pain, unhappiness, loneliness) of not having this person to hold, share, make love to, communicate with, etc.

Even though until now I felt I hurt (pain, unhappiness, loneliness) because I do not have (name of person)____ to hold (share, make love to communicate with etc. – be specific), I now experience the fullness of my being and of my life and lovingly connect with those around me.

6. Injustice (bitterness, resentment, betrayal) that he/she is unjustly harming, betraying, hurting us in this way.

Even though until now I felt Injustice (bitterness, resentment, betrayal) because (name of person)____ has behaved unjustly, I now have faith in the wisdom of what life gives me for my growth process.

7. Guilt (self-rejection) because I feel that I am to blame for his/her leaving.

Even though until now I felt guilt (self-rejection) because (name of person)____ left me, I now forgive and love myself, realizing that I have done and will do my best.

8. Jealousy if (because) he/she is with someone else

Even though until now I felt jealous because (name of person)____ is with someone else, I now feel the fullness of my being trust that life gives me exactly what I need for my growth process (self-actualization).

9. Anger (hate, revenge) because he/she has caused now so much pain.

Even though until now I felt anger (hate, revenge) because (name of person)____ left me (is with someone else), I now realize that I am perfectly capable of being happy and fulfilled without him/her.

10. Depression (disillusionment, discouragement) that I cannot have what I want and cannot do anything about it.

Even though until now I felt depressed (disillusioned, discouraged) because I could not be with (name of person)____ , I now realize (feel, experience) that I have the power to create the life I want.

It should not take long to work through all of the above. The pain which often takes months, and for some people, years, can be removed in a week or less. We help no one by feeling all these emotions.

Better to get on with our lives.

The perfect script

Bruce McGuire

Announcers and sportswriters like to say things like, “You couldn’t have scripted that any better” when something really dramatic happens. (This phrase reached its peak when Boston came back from a 0-3 deficit to beat New York in the 2004 ALCS and go on to take the World Series. Strangely, if this “script” had a sequel four years later, it would involve everyone going from hating just the Yankees to everyone hating both the Yanks and Red Sox equally.)  
 

To my recollection, I think I have only heard the “script” phrase once describing this year’s March Madness. Frankly, the tournament has been pretty disappointing: lots of blowouts, no real surprises (unless you count West Virgina beating Kentucky), and many bad performances from other teams that everyone had in their office pool  
 

So I thought to myself, “Hey, why not just come up with your own sports movie pitches? You can certainly think of something that could make a better ‘script’ than the 2010 tournament. At the very least, you can be lazy and not have to do any research!” Deal. Nice job, self. 
 

Wii-nning It All

This is about a college senior (Peter) with a 4.0 and aspirations of joining his father’s law firm until his lazy roommate (Sharky) buys a Nintendo Wii for their apartment. Initially skeptical, Peter decides to give the Wii a try after finishing up his frivolous lawsuit readings earlier than expected. After creating his Mii (dubbed “Big Pete”) and playing only one game of Wii Tennis, he becomes hooked. Peter plays all night and day, sleeping only in the time between recharges of his controller’s batteries. When he dreams, he envisions becoming the next Andre Agassi… except Andre actually played tennis and Peter plays video games. 

Peter no longer attends class, bathes, or answers his phone. He starts to look like the cavemen in the Geiko ads, only holding a Wii remote and not being run into the ground. He doesn’t graduate; instead, Peter spends commencement locked up in his room screaming at a Nintendo phone representative (Emily) for a quick fix for his overheated operating system. Emily is the first girl he has spoken to since his fiancé (Jennifer) broke up with him. Naturally, he has a crush and tells her of his dream: to play Wii in Wimbledon.

Peter trains night and day, maintaining a relationship with Emily via phone all the while. However, trouble surfaces. Along the way, Peter develops an addiction to Vicotin in an effort to relieve his injurious “Wii elbow.” After a montage of playing Wii Tennis in pain, taking pills, tossing his phone into an aquarium, and crying, Peter sees a SportsCenter promo on a Wii tournament in Wimbledon. Peter buys a ticket and leaves his apartment for the first time in a year. Despite being a horrible seed, Peter advances to the Wii Tennis finals where he faces… Andre Agassi, another Nintendo addict. They go back and forth for five hard fought games until, on the last serve, Peter’s batteries run out causing him to lose the match.

Andre celebrates. Peter is about to cry until he looks in the stands and sees Emily, who runs onto the court and gives him a kiss. A long one. It is awkward. 

Boris the Bullet        

A down-on-his-luck Russian immigrant (Boris) finds himself in the underground world of Russian roulette. After managing to win (read: live) his first three contests, he gets cocky and starts showing off his spoils. He wears a fur coat to his next match and loses (read: dies) after the first round (read: bullet).

Shots and Shots

A high school senior (Reginald) is terrible at basketball. Being a senior, he only has one year of opportunity left to make his father, a former NBA player (Shawn Kemp) proud. Reginald is nervous about the upcoming tryouts, so he brings a flask of vodka with him to the locker room, dumps the booze in his Gatorade and goes to play. Shockingly, Reginald hits every shot he takes during the tryout. He can barely run a straight line and slurs his words to the Coach (John Wooden) but they all just think he is tired from playing so hard. Reginald makes the team and continues to before every practice and game, but it makes him a great player, so he doesn’t think of the repercussions. During the state championship (with NCAA scouts watching), Reginald is struggling. He can’t hit anything and wonders if someone switched out his trusty Stoli with Aquafina. At halftime it hits him: “My tolerance has been built up so high that vodka won’t do… I need everclear.” Reginald gets his older brother (Reggie) to get the high-proofed libation into his water bottle; as a result, he starts playing great again and even hits the championship winning shot. As he is handed the Player of the Year trophy, Coach says to the crowd, “… and he did this without any alcohol.” Racked with guilt, Reginald grabs the mic and admits to his underage-drinking ways. Their championship is taken away and he loses scholarship interest, but receives a 5-year endorsement from Armadale Vodka. Holla!  

Number One Fan

One man’s struggle (Jimmy) to convince the world the WNBA kicks ass. As the nation’s only New York Liberty season ticket holder (and owner of three WNBA jerseys), Jimmy eventually goes crazy after going bankrupt from his ill-conceived “Girls of the WNBA” calendar.  
 
Don’t steal ‘em!

Thank you Madam May I have Another

Sarah Simmons

Growing up we all hated being spanked, we would get into trouble at school and dreaded to hear those famous words “just wait till your father gets home.” Today many people are actually turned on by the thought of being spanked. To the point that there are actually places where people go just for this very reason.

If you are a fan of the show Family Guy then you have seen the episode where the character Stewie is actually turned on by being spanked. But before you go and think that the world of spanking is just a bunch of people running around whipping people with belts here are some facts about the scene.

First there are safe words that are used, these are words that once said bring a complete stop to all activity. the next thing is that there are roles, one person is the dominant and one person is the submissive. in some cases these roles may switch during the role playing with both parties experiencing the feeling of being spanked.

Spanking is often considered to be part of the BDSM culture and often times considered a taboo subject in the U.S. Even though this is considered taboo you can still find a bounty of publications dedicated to this subject.

The subject of spanking is even covered in the Kama Sutra, where it shows you in great detail how to strike your partner the proper and safe way, after all the name of the game is to have fun and to be safe.
So the next time that you and your partner are looking to spice up your sex life consider trying spanking, there are a limitless number of roles that you can use to help further the experience. Who knows you might discover something about yourself that you never knew like you really couldn’t wait for your father to get home.

Wrestlemania 26

WrestleMania 26

the Biggest night in the WWE is tonight from Phoenix, Arizona. There is a lot of anticipation for this event. There is so much on the line for the superstars of the WWE, these athletes know that if they make it tonight then they have won their Super Bowl. The stage is set, the time for talk is now over. This is where it is either put up or shut up.

San Francisco for the Adult

Patrick Smith

Visiting San Francisco, California is great to do with a family; it is even better to do as an adult without children along. Frisco has a thriving nightlife and plenty of entertainment that simply isn’t meant for children. From the slightly off color to the seriously bawdy, San Francisco nightlife has entertainment of almost every flavor. Of course there is still plenty to do during the daylight hours too.

Is There any Real Advantages to Circumcision

I want to take this moment to say that this column does not reflect my personal feelings or those of the FiX Magazine. This is simply a response to an earlier posted column allowing the other side of the debate to have a voice.