Closure is a psychobabble word which means “I didn’t get my chance to tell you off.”

Back in the mid-90s, I lived in a nice, quiet, suburban Albuquerque neighborhood, I was in college full time, and I supported myself with my own phone sex business and the occasional in-person domination session.

The one bathroom in the house had a window which overlooked the driveway of the house next door. There were no windows into the neighbor’s house on that side, so on hot days, I didn’t think twice about showering with the window open … at least until the day I noticed the neighbor’s kid.

Their boy, aged 11 or 12 at the time, was riding his bike up and down the driveway repeatedly. That in and of itself wasn’t questionable, but with each pass this kid would stand up on his bike and peer in the window at me.

I had the same reaction most adults do: I wanted to yell at him. I wanted to tell his parents. I wanted to embarrass him. But the experience I’d had as a pro Domme told me that if I did, it may have odd consequences.

Not all but a fair portion of my clients had been yelled at or humiliated by a female authority figure during their own pubescence. The key time, it seemed, was just when they were first coming to terms with erections and the desire to explore sex and sexuality. This time of life was usually associated with doing anything to see naked women, like sharing an older brother’s dirty magazines, or perhaps riding past a neighbor’s window when she showers.

The negative responses these clients of mine received from mothers, aunts, female teachers, nuns, etc. had made such an impression that they spent time, money, and energy seeking out the same situational “punishment” as a sexual release in adulthood.

That was a service I was happy to provide. I was not happy, however, to create a future client out of the kid next door, so I closed the window.

I learned much about human sexual behavior back then, so when someone sent me the article today which started …

Children whose parents spank them or otherwise inflict physical punishment may be more likely to have sexual problems later, according to research to be presented Thursday to the American Psychological Association.

… all I could think was, “Well, DUH.” That and I have GOT to get started on that book I’ve been meaning to write since I quit the biz.

The full story on the spanking study is right here.

I wonder what happened to that kid … ?

George Carlin and Ministry are both playing Denver on April 12th.

I really shouldn’t complain about this embarrassment of riches, as there are places that won’t get either in concert at all, but we also have an 8-hour NRA Firearm Safety Training course scheduled that day.

Gunplay followed by a comedy master in concert and a hardcore industrial rock show to close the night? What a day that’s going to be.

Bang, bang.

I received this one via e-mail. If anyone knows who wrote it, please let me know so I can give credit.

If you had purchased $1,000.00 of Delta Airline stock one year ago, you would have $49.00 left today.

Enron? You’d have $16.50 of the original $1,000.00.

With WorldCom, you’d have less than $5.00 left.

BUT, if you had purchased $1,000.00 worth of beer one year ago, drank all of the beer, and then turned in the cans for the aluminum recycling refund, you would have about $214.00.

Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle.

It’s called a 401-Keg.

That reminds me: Gotta get a lottery ticket.

A hearing was set up in Boston to investigate Comcast’s recent antics, specifically their blocking of upload and download speeds on the Internet.

What is a giant, multi-million dollar corporation to do? Pack the room with paid seat fillers so anyone with a real complaint against you can’t get in to be heard, of course.

Save Net Neutrality.

I had nearly completely forgotten about Denver Restaurant Week until we stopped by Sonoda’s for sushi on Sunday afternoon.

Participating restaurants in the week-long event offer up a selected menu for just $52.80 for two (or $26.40 for one), not including taxes or tip. Our foray into this special menu at Sonoda’s started with a first course of sashimi, specifically tuna and sea bass, followed by a wonderful seaweed and greens salad which was topped with a liberal helping of slices of seared tuna and a slightly spicy, slightly sweet vinaigrette dressing.

That would have been a normal-sized meal for us alone, but then out came the Deluxe Bento Box. It had assorted sushi (ours was tuna and salmon), lobster tempura with dipping sauce, negi maki (beef rolls with scallions), calamari steak, a small radish and carrot salad, miso soup, and rice.

Just when we had no room left, the dessert of green tea, ogura (red bean), and vanilla ice cream was served. Between that and the hot sake and Asahi beer, we had to take a leisurely walk up the 16th Street Mall before heading home. Lucky for us it was a warm evening and I was feeling up to it.

The special menus all end this Friday and, as is my annual tradition, I’ve perused the online list of participating restaurants. Because I am cheap and I am a lush, I always narrow my choices down to those who include alcoholic beverages in the $52.80 price tag. This year, they are:

Alto
The Bent Noodle
Bridgewater Grill
The Burnsley Hotel
Cafe Colore
Cafe Prague
Cheeky Monk Belgian Beer Cafe
Dixon’s Downtown Grill
Gaetano’s
Hacienda
India House
Las Margaritas
Little India
Lodo’s Bar & Grill
Maggiano’s Little Italy
Opal
The Oven Pizza et Vino
P.F. Chang’s
Pearl Street Grille
Piatti Trattoria
Que Bueno
Racine’s
Rock Bottom Brewery
Sansone’s Bistro
Santa Fe Tequila Company
Steuben’s
Treo
Via Baci Italian Bistro
Virgilio’s Pizzeria
Wasabi Sushi Bar

A lot of these places are much more expensive than $26.40 per person for a three to four course meal including alcohol, so this is a chance to save some serious dough. My only problem now is narrowing my choice down to just one.

I may give up and go to the Buckhorn instead.

This is an edited and truncated version of the video. The entire situation in five parts, each about 9 minutes long, were on YouTube at one point, but have been pulled for “terms of use” violation, more than likely because they will become part of an upcoming court case.

Officer Willis claims the woman, Angela Garbarino, fell and hurt herself, but we’ll never know for sure because Officer Willis turned off the video camera for a time during the interrogation. He has been fired, but has hired an attorney to fight that outcome.

Here is the full news story by the Associated Press and a link to the Shreveport Police Department’s website.

Serve and protect.

This is how you do it in Hollywood:

The couple who plays together, stays together.

FM radio died several years ago, contrary to what those who are keeping it on life support - Citadel and Clear Channel in particular - may say.

When I went in for my pre-surgery MRI a few weeks ago, the tech asked me what FM radio station I wanted on the headphones (they use them to block out the machine noise). For the first time in my life, I had no earthly idea what call letters or signal numbers were available on the FM dial.

It was a strange moment for a girl who had a radio nearly glued to her ear from the age of 6 to relatively recently.

We watched a great documentary on this very subject last weekend, titled Before the Music Dies. Most of the issues the movie deals with are familiar to those of us who have given up on radio: That pop stars no longer have to be talented, they just have to look good and be able to dance and lip synch; that so much of the music played on radio sounds the same; that playlists are too limited and much too repetitive; that the old payola system is alive and well; etc.

What was interesting to me, though, was the realization that had some artists hit the scene now rather than when they did, they would never have gotten a recording contract. Janis Joplin wasn’t pretty enough; neither was Bonnie Raitt.

Further, the music bands like Queen, Led Zeppelin, and Lynyrd Skynyrd produced didn’t fit any of the super-ultra-specific genres of playlists on current radio stations. In the case of the first two bands, their musical styles were really diverse (sometimes even on the same album); without being pigeonholed, no station would take a chance on them. In the case of the latter, the band wasn’t really country and they weren’t really rock, so they wouldn’t fit anywhere on the dial anymore. As well all know, no playlist means no recording contract. I can’t imagine growing up without these bands, myself.

Fortunately, real diversity in music survives. I switched to streaming radio when Live365 hit the ‘Net and I have never looked back. Currently two of my favorite online stations are:

This is quite possibly the best goth/industrial station I’ve found thus far. In days upon days of listening, I rarely hear the same track more than twice. They also don’t shy away from powernoise or 80s tracks. Their new daily show, 30 Minutes of Anarchy, reveals the DJs to be true music lovers (playing real rarities and forgotten songs) and sadists (William Hung, anyone?). What’s not to love?

CHAOS APPROVED

This is the station of the Wasp Factory recording label. I originally tuned in for that fact alone, as their name is the same as one of my all-time favorite books (by Iain Banks). The station plays the new, the weird, the classic, and the wild, sometimes even in that order. My only complaint is that they do sometimes repeat the same playlist from day to day.

I will invest in satellite radio if they get a goth/industrial station on board. Until then, I’m happy to hit the record button on my computer here and create my own podcasts from these two places.

Oh, and National Public Radio comes back to the FM dial in Denver soon, so I might get to know at least one local station’s call letters and signal setting. I prefer my news in stereo, so that will be a nice change.

Purist.

The bandage on my stitches came off at the doctor’s office today. I’m not a member of the “Zipper Club” - that’s a distinction reserved for those who’ve had open-heart surgery - but it’s pretty obvious I will have a zipper-like scar from the surgery.

I know how to get rid of it, as there are many balms and creams and such which help with scar-removal, but I’m seriously considering just leaving it in place.

I never used anything to rid myself of my collapsed lung scars and they are barely visible to the naked eye. I believe I have my fair skin and good health to thank for that. And scars are a mark of personal history: They say you’ve lived through some pretty rough experiences and survived.

The truth, however, is I keep thinking I could probably come up with a really cool tattoo pattern to go over it.

Addicted to ink.