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The Vine

The Tomato Nation advice column addresses your questions on etiquette, grammar, romance, and pet misbehavior. Ask The Readers about books or fashion today!

Home » The Vine

The Vine: February 23, 2007

Submitted by on February 23, 2007 – 3:06 PMNo Comment

Hi Sars,

Re: the woman who hates the pill and her boyfriend who hates condoms,
I highly recommend the sponge (http://www.todaysponge.com). It’s back
and it’s great. I have been using it with my boyfriend of seven
months and it has worked wonderfully for us. Angels sang when we used
it for the first time (which, you know, distracting, but okay).

A little messy to put in, but not overly so. And as someone who finds
tampons uncomfortable, most of the time I really forget I’m using it.

Thanks again for The Vine and everything!

Sooo Sponge-Worthy

Dear Sponge,

The sponge! I completely forgot the sponge was back — great tip, thanks! Other readers suggested a cervical cap; giving the NuvaRing another chance (the hormone dosage is different/lower, apparently); female condoms; and Crown Skinless Skin Condoms.

Hey, Sars.

Your readers are an amazingly clever bunch, so maybe they can help
with this one.

I vaguely remember an animated movie I saw in the ’80s. I’m pretty
sure it was on Beta, so it was the early ’80s at that. It was almost,
but not quite, Ralph Bakshi-style animation. A lot of the stories,
which I think were just brief vignettes, were based on Greek
mythology. I distinctly remember really creepy medusae. One story,
involving temptation of some kind, had a really sultry female voice
seducing the female character on-screen into some kind of unpleasant
action.

I realize this isn’t much to go on, but it’s what I got.

Why the hell do I remember this stuff?!

Dear Stuff,

I got nothing, chief. Let’s see what the readers come up with. Email subject line: “Beta animation.”

Hey Sars;

I need to lose weight, and I think I’ve got the diet part handled once I get past Have Some More Chocolate It’s Valentine’s Day, but I need more. I’d like to try an exercise video or set, because I can’t afford a gym and have no safe places to walk in my neighborhood (no sidewalks, lots of semi truck traffic). I did Billy Blanks for a while, but I have since developed two bad knees and find his workouts too rough on them. Also, I’m super tired of his mid-’90s music track.

I would really like to do something that was easy on my knees and concentrate on abs and upper arms as well as overall fitness. I could probably spring for some weights if I knew what to get. Can your readers recommend any good DVDs?

Thanks,
Ready To Leave XL Behind

Dear XL,

I would suggest checking out The Firm; I used the old-school ’90s VHS tapes, so the soundtrack is not going to do you right on those, and I am not familiar with their more recent offerings, but 1) I know they have general tapes as well as workouts that focus on specific areas of the body, and 2) I am here to tell you, that shit works. If you do Firm tapes for a month, you will see a difference. You will be hating life that first week, and you will find yourself developing a weird Stockholm-syndrome-ian bond with the teachers, but if you stick with it, you’ll get results, and they’re almost all low-impact.

I don’t use mine much anymore, because my apartment isn’t laid out for it, and if you want something more mellow, I’d suggest a DVD from Yoga Zone, but that may not be aerobic enough for you, although the one 45-minute version I do is an ass-kicker, literally. But let’s see what the readers have for us.

Readers, hit it. Email subject line: “workout DVD.”

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