Tips For Walking in Hollywood

As a young woman living alone in Hollywood, I have found it necessary to discover ways to protect myself while walking alone. If you can avoid it, try to not walk alone anywhere, just out of safety. But, if you do, here is some helpful advice.

1. Make every part of you a weapon.

Now, I'm not saying you have to go all Batman and train for years to make your entire body a perfect human weapon. I'm saying make everything on your person some way to defend yourself. If you have a keyring, hold your keys in a way that you can punch with them if you are attacked. If you have a drink, be able to throw it at someone to attack or distract them for an escape. If you have bags, don't be afraid to swing them at an attacker. Try to think up ways to use your surroundings to help you.

2. Get mad and fight dirty.

If you find yourself attacked, don't be afraid. Try not to think, "Oh my god, help!", but, instead, "How DARE you, motherfucker!" Getting angry will give you power and adrenaline of the kind you need to fight and get away. Use this rage and punch, kick, bite, claw, and strangle your way free. If you're grabbed from behind, kick them in the knees, legs, balls; never be afraid of delivering a ball-shot. If you're in heels, try to dig your heel into the top of the attacker's foot, right behind the toes. If you can get them to the ground, jump on their knees and break their kneecaps. I know, it's incredibly undesirable, but they were attacking you first; don't be nice.

3. Be a predator.

It's a very simple concept: If you walk, look, and carry yourself like a predator, people will see you as a predator; if you walk, look, and carry yourself like prey, you are prey. NEVER walk with your head down, like you're trying to hide from the world. Never meander or walk like you don't know where you're going or where you are. Even if you're completely lost, walk like this is exactly where you belong. ALWAYS look around you and be consciously aware of your surroundings. If you seem to be giving a "Fuck off" vibe, people will notice. Walk like this is your town: you live here, you own it, and you can kill in it.

4. Extra protection.

Carry pepper spray or a loud alarm with you if you go out alone (even during the day if you don't know how long you'll be out). Pepper spray gives you the time you need to run, and the alarm is a great way of getting attention to you.

5. Don't yell for help; yell "fire".

As bizarre as this sounds, it is very sound advice. People don't always pay attention to yells for help; people always want to know what's on fire. Yell "Fire!" at the top of your lungs to get the attention of any passers-by.

Those are some useful tips for walking in a big city. I'm sure it varies city to city, but, for Hollywood, these will help. If you can go out with someone, do it, because there is always safety in numbers. If you can't, use these tips to protect yourself and fight back. Just always be safe and aware.

On the Scientific Study of Filmed Pornography: Introduction

Hello.

This is your course on the Scientific Study of Filmed Pornography.

Here, we will be analyzing:

What makes filmed pornography an effective arousal tool and what aspects need to be involved to make it effective;

How certain practices and techniques used in filmed pornography can actually be detrimental to its purpose;

How filmed pornography compares to films not specifically created for sexual arousal purposes;

What basic storytelling techniques are used and how they are implemented;

How the films balance plot and storytelling with the sexual pornography itself.

The first two films to be analyzed will be "Alice in Wonderland: An X-rated Musical Fantasy" and "Batman-XXX: A Porn Parody". Each discussion will be broken up into several sections (with a separate post for each section). More films will be added as the semester progresses.

This will be a 15-week course. Each week (or more frequently), there will be a new lesson and new assignment. Please stay on top of your work. There will be a Mid-term in Week 8 and a Final in Week 15.

Grading is as follows:

Reading Assignments: 20%

Watching Assignments: 20%

Discussions: 20%

Mid-term: 20%

Final: 20%
　
Thank you for participating and I hope you will enjoy this course. Stay posted for your first lesson.