ETCETERA
I KIDDUSH CLUB
THEQ&A
Sexologist Emily Morse Puts Out for Red Thread
By Bryan Gottlieb
,
, is true, Emily Morse puts out — to the tune of about 10,000
viewers a day — as the host of her own advice and interview
__show about sex on emilymorse.com .
The Farmington Hills native, who has called San Francisco
home since graduating from the University of Michigan in 1992,
turned a natural curiosity of relationships into a thriving career
as a sexologist. With the release of her first book, an illustrated
guide to sex called Hot Sex: 200 Things You Can Try Tonight (Wel-
don Press; $19.95; 240 pp), the former campaign aide to several
Bay Area politicians, including Sen. Barbara Boxer, Rep. Nancy Pe-
losi and former mayor Willie Brown, is poised to become the Dr.
Ruth of her generation. She also released an app on iTunes called
Kegel Camp that sells for $1.99, and she has frequent stints to
speak about her area of expertise on Sirius XM's Stars Too station.
Before there was sex, the 41-year-old made a name for herself
as an award-winning documentarian, making the film See How
They Run, an account of the 1999 San Francisco mayoral race.The
film traveled the indie circuit and eventually aired nationally on
PBS.
Currently working toward a Ph.D. in human sexuality from
the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality, Morse
is quickly becoming a cottage industry unto herself. She took
some time to give Red Thread a quickie — and now we, too, are
smitten.
RT: We read that your mom is cool with your career, but how do other
family members feel about your liberated loquacity?
EM:They're all cool with it, although my brother [Huntington Woods
attorney Michael Morse] doesn't want to necessarily listen to me talk about
my sex life. But I know he's proud of the success of the show.
RT: Your new book, Hot Sex: Over 200 Things You Can Try Tonight, which
debuted in October, has been called "The Joy of Sex without cheesy art or
outdated photos!' How much research was involved in choosing which
things to highlight?
EM: We spent several months researching topics and issues and took
pictures of actual people having sex, and then had them illustrated by
an amazingly talented illustrator in London named Benjamin Wachenje.
RT: Your podcasting of interviews and advice spurred the launch
of your webcast on emilymorse.com as well as a talk show
on Sirius XM's Stars Too station. Who are some predeces-
sors in your field you are hoping to emulate?
EM: I really admire and respect the work of Dr.
Ruth and am currently working on my doctorate in
human sexuality.
RT: What are the three sexiest things men and
won-, e_n can E- ,ccentuate when seeking a mate?
EM: Personality, sense of humor and eye
contact.
RT: Do men find your knowledge of sex intimi-
dating?
EM: I think some do, but those aren't the guys
I want to be with.
RT.: What is one of the strangest questions
you've fielded?
EM: I haven't had anything particularly
'strange' because all of sex is fair game and
most of what people think of as strange is
quite normal. I'd have to say one of the most
shocking emails I received was from a man
who had been married to his wife for 10 years,
and she had just admitted to him that she's
never had an orgasm with him — and had
been faking it for 10 years.
RT: Have you ever been asked anything that
has made you blush?
EM: No. I don't blush easily.
RT: What is the No. 1 myth about sex in
America?
EM: I'd have to say that it's men want more sex
than women do. Many couples have mismatched
libidos, and I believe it's pretty equal across couples.
I hear from women all the time that they'd like to
have more sex than their partners and while I also
hear this from men, I believe the stereotype that
every man is a hot-blooded scavenger always ready
for sex is false.
Champagne: The Tiny
Bubble Powerhouse
my bubbles, in the wine, make me happy,
make me feel fine:'— Don Ho, pure genius.
As the Kiddush Club mobilizes for its New
Year's blowout, the go-to drink for frivolity is, of
course, Champagne.
For you legal scholars, only the bubble-laden
libation pressed from grapes grown in the Cham-
pagne region of France may bear the eponym
(notice the capitalization). All other offerings must
use the no-name brand equivalent: sparkling
wine.
Now that we've satisfied in-house counsel,
let's move on to the important stuff. Champagne
holds a unique place in the annals of celebration.
Its light palate, creamy texture and effervescent
taste have secured its rank as the No. 1 choice of
revelers in the pantheon of party planning.
Because discerning which Champagnes are
the best is no place for novices like us to tread,
we asked our friendly booze Sherpa, Plum Market
West Bloomfield's in-house sommelier Anthony
Minne, to give us a tour. So, as the French would
say, "Alors buvons jusqu'ar (Let's drink up!)
DUVAL LEROY
$30
Minne
said
Duval-Leroy,
based
in
the Ver-
,,
tus region of Champagne, is one of the last
independent and family-owned champagne
houses left in France. Minne described its
taste as"yeasty and biscuit-doughy!' He
assured us that those are good things and
summed up our least expensive sugges-
tion by adding, "the wine speaks for itself'
DRAPPIER CARTE D'OR BRUT
-
$45
BOLLINGER
One of France's last independent
Champagne producers, Bollinger
is the Hollywood starlet of Cham-
pagne, having been made famous as
James Bond's bubbly of choice.
The wine is barrel fermented and
aged upwards of four — and as
long as six — years, which Minne
explained was highly unusual for
non-vintage Champagne. Our
expert said the fermentation and
aging process gives Bollinger"more
power, body and richness:'
$55
JACQUESSON
THE SCALLION A SATIRE
Birmingham to Become Nation's
First Municipal Food Court
City hopes to add condiment stations soon.
By Drew P. Hodensack
BIRMINGHAM, Mich. — Retail stores in
tony downtown Birmingham continue
their exodus for affordable square foot-
age, furthering the goal of city leaders to
change the once fashionable shopping
district into the nation's first municipal
food court.
In October, shoppers said goodbye to
kitschy accessories store Claire's, and the
now vacant storefront leaves but a few
scattered retailers left on the once-thriv-
ing Maple Road promenade.
"Not to despair, they'll be gone soon,"
said one restaurant patron in response to
the remaining shops.
The other inedible offering, Beadz
'N Bagz, struggled to keep up with the
myriad restaurants, bistros and coffee bars
that have come to define the area.
"Nobody's going hungry in this town,
18 December 2011 I
•
RED TEEM
that's for sure;' said Bloomfield
Village resident Dr. Hardy Fresser.
"The only place you'll now see a
rib on anyone in this town is in
their mouth:'
In its prime, downtown Bir-
mingham was home to a number
of retail and specialty stores, in-
cluding The Gap, Express, Florsheim Shoes
and Ralph Lauren, among others.
"I'm not sure if the city and building
landlords realize residents and visitors
like to do things other than eat," said
Birmingham resident Anita Doubee."Of
course, with all this food, who can fit into
the teeny dresses that Linda Dresner sells
anyway?"
Birmingham a city
planner
R.M. Pitt
acknowledged
cabal
of restaurateurs
colluding with city hall to empty all
storefronts
without a
kitchen.
"Shoppers
just clog up
the streets,
darting in
and out, and
don't stay long
enough for us to make any money off
the meters;' she said. "However, you get a
couple of friends going to Cosi for dinner,
then catching a movie and stuffing their
faces after with a pastry — we'll soak'em
for at least three hours!'
Pitt added that in addition to placing
condiment stations throughout the city,
leaders are planning to change Birming-
ham's motto from "a walkable city"to
"Keepin'Your Belly Full!' 1 .;
$40
Yes, praise the Lord, there is a kosher
offering of real Champagne in this
column. Dappier has produced a kosher
Champagne to which Wine Spectator
gave 90 out of 100 points.
"This blend comes exclusively from
the first pressing, which gives it its
elegance and lightness and also its
capacity to mature well," says Wine.
corn. And, while we normally aren't
keen on asking outside counsel to
help describe our suggestions, a
kosher Champagne is too rare a find
to just wing it.
The current bottle on the market,
Cuvee No. 734, is nearly three-quarters
bottled from the 2006 harvest, which
Minee said was a good year for grapes
from Champagne.The bottle is also a
brut, which doesn't mean it's boorish;
brut refers to the fact that little dos-
age, or sugar, has been added to the
bottle.
No. 734 is a blend of Chardon-
nay (54 percent), Pinot Meunier (26
percent) and Pinot Noir (20 percent).
The wine-master said this bottle is
his favorite due to its flavor, price
and full-bodied style.
'
KRUG
$130
No list would be complete without
including the mac daddy of Champagnes.
Oddly enough, Krug himself was a Ger-
man who moved to France in the 19th
century (you know what perfectionists
those Germans are).
This entry-level Krug may be a blend,
versus a vintage (which means all the
wine was bottled in a single year), but
the wine can be 10 years old before it
gets included in a bottle. Minne says
Krug tends to be rich, creamy and
toasty — perfect for our party.
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