hok-up culture?

First, let me say that I don't have a thing against hooking up, if the people involved have the slightest idea about safety, civility, health, and friendliness in sex. In the pre-AIDS, pre-antibiotic-resistant-STDs era, my own generation thought there was something truly transcendent to be acquired through joyful and boundless sex. I don't think we were any wronger than Newtonian physics is. Think about it.

However, there's this thing going the rounds -- Laura Stepp, Tom Wolfe, I don't know how many other culture vultures, are out there saying that kids these days are having too much soulless, stringless sex, unlike any generation before them.

Stupid.

Any time some kid goes out and has sex which is not fun, does not promote nice relationships (whether shallow or deep, okay?), is not safe, etc.,etc.: any time some kid does something that makes them feel bad, that's not good, sure.

But honestly, my house and my world sees a fairly steady stream of young folks, and I just don't see that kind of behavior. I do see a small number of recreational-sex devotees, and I do see some people engaging in Mistake Sex, but I don't see any Recent Phenomenon of More Destructive Sex than Ever.

Probably because there isn't one.

(no subject)

Okay: the "unsuitable lover" is named Skip (as in Christopher). The person he's talking to is Cary, his best friend for the last three or four years. Cary is a reference librarian: Skip is a library clerk. Other people of interest are Simon, who Skip had a disastrous affair with five years before, and Russell, who Skip meets at the baths.

There's a very complicated set of coincidences, so there needs to be some pretty delicate staging and writing.

On another front, I had to brake for a kestrel today. I don't know what it thought was so interesting in the middle of Calabasas Road. I wouldn't have been able to take advantage of it even if I had had my camera. Down the road a piece there was a harrier. I'm sure of it, I checked. Harriers are not rare here, but here lately all I've been seeing besides the kestrel have been anomalous red tails.

On still another front, tomorrow night I'm going to the volunteer appreciation dinner for coastal watershed people like me, at the Monterey Marriott hotel. I have no idea, so we're going to dress a little.