I was a high school kid in the early ‘80s when the term “digital” gained traction in the public headspace. I specifically remember the very moment I learned what the term meant relative to the analog nature of, well…everything in life up to that point.
As naïve as I may have been, I wondered then what life would be like when everything was reduced to simple ones and zeros. Wouldn’t it all be so finely-calculated to the point of being hyper-sanitary…and boring?
As it turned out, my simple teenage mind was prescient in many ways. In the rush toward digital everything, plenty of what made life interesting—and arguably better—has been lost, probably forever.
Realistically speaking, plenty of what I’m about to throw on the table happened long before “my day”. As such, my intent isn’t to sound curmudgeonly. It’s just that with technology moving at such breakneck speed toward The Singularity, I haven’t seen much written about what we’ve sacrificed along the way as collateral damage.
It’s already an established fact that I have this thing for Asian flight attendants. And it’s not even like I prefer Asian women in particular. It’s just that the flight attendants over there tend to be more feminine, more graceful and—best of all—almost obsequious in their pleasure to serve. It all makes for a more enjoyable 14-hour flight.
Oh, and if you really hit the jackpot, they dress in seriously exotic uniforms that no Western flight attendant would be caught dead wearing in public, like this:
Women in Asia aren’t afraid to be, well, female. That, combined with the tantalizing cultural differences between East and West, ensure that we as male visitors are treated to frequent surprises of the best possible kind.
Once you step off of the airplane, you just might find women where you never think they’d be, dripping in feminine charm at a time and place far-flung from where you’d expect to find it.
First of all, some of you are going to roll your eyes and shake your head at this list. I’m actually looking forward to that, if for no other reason than it will prove the true point of this post (if there really is one).
That’s this: All that really, seriously matters when it comes to YOUR choice of women is what YOU like.
Since this is my blog, what you’re about to behold is a nothing more than a dead giveaway of my personal taste. Indeed, each individual’s taste is different, and in my arrogant opinion that happens to mean that neither Ginger NOR Marianne make the cut.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m SURE I’ve missed some legit candidates, especially if they were hidden away on daytime soap operas or shows watched only by teenage girls. “TV Land” is a big place, so I didn’t exactly exhaust all possible resources compiling my list. As such, I actually look forward to being reminded of who I forgot…thanks to those of you who have different and/or more complete memories than I.
Another caveat is that I haven’t exactly been a voracious consumer of television shows over the years, so I’m sure there were jaw-dropping hotties along the way who completely slipped my radar. Those of you outside of the States in particular might be able to enlighten me.
For real. In fact, we just got back two nights ago and we’ve pretty much been catching up on sleep since.
Now, you’ve probably noticed that like one out of four shows on the Discovery or National Geographic channels have something to do with Alaska. Usually, they refer to it as “Wild Alaska”, or something similar.
Well, if you’ve been there you don’t need me to tell you that it lived up to the hype. Whether we were hiking glaciers in Kennicott, powering through the Kenai Fjords along with a pod of Dall’s Porpoises or hauling ass up the infamous Dalton Highway toward the Arctic Circle and beyond, Alaska was nothing short of an amazing and glorious adventure at every turn.
But to me, the WILDEST thing about Alaska was something completely different…and something wholly unexpected.
You see, I’ve been hearing from guys who actually LIVE in Alaska for years now. They all say the same thing over and over:
“But Scot, I don’t have a girlfriend and the problem is that I live in Alaska. There are like 50 guys for every woman here. I have no chance with odds like that! The competition is too much to overcome.”
Having received probably fifty e-mails like that but never having been to The Last Frontier myself, you can imagine what I expected to see once we touched down at Ted Stevens Int’l, grabbed our luggage and caught a ride to the hotel.
Both Emily and I had been led to believe we’d encounter a veritable Armistice Day Parade of buff, interesting, “Marlboro Man” types interrupted only occasionally by some pasty, unappetizing chick named “Large Marge” in a 4×4 pickup truck with “Halliburton” on the side.
Instead, the reality was nothing short of SHOCKING.
Subject: A Dirty, Messy But Absolutely Thrilling Journey Into The Female Mind
What if… you could rise above the frustrated, confused ranks of men all over the world who are convinced women are impossible to understand?
In other words, what if you finally figured them out? For real…
By that I mean legitimately knowing what thoughts are going through their heads, why they do what they do, and best of all how to handle it all like a man.
Can you imagine how profound an advantage that would be? Women would flat-out adore you, connecting with you in an almost supernatural way–even as you wield more personal power in their presence than ever before.
Well, I’ve been literally immersed in the art and science of understanding women for over a decade. During that time I’ve empowered tens of thousands of average men to achieve way better than average results with the opposite sex.
And having been bombarded with questions from men all over the world who are completely nonplussed by what women say and what they do, I’ve come out with a killer new book on Amazon that answers them ALL. Check it out…it’s already a #1 bestseller in two categories within 24 hours of its official release:
Having driven over 2000 miles so far on our first annual “International Fall Road Trip” Emily and I have had plenty of time to come up with weird topics of conversation. Especially while driving through Missouri and Indiana late at night.
One such discussion centered around how modernity has affected dating relationships. Needless to say, there was a lot to talk about…a lot of it well worth sharing with you.
For the purposes of this post, though, I’m going to limit the scope to technical advances of the last 25 years or so. There’s no doubt that wondrous inventions like the automobile, motion pictures and heck, deodorant, have done wonders for the dating fortunes of millions. But geez, if you go back that far “dating” as we commonly know it didn’t even exist (although beer did). Nevertheless, I’ve got to draw the line somewhere.
I was recently asked during a media interview what my favorite “love song” was.
My first “knee jerk” reaction was, well…NO reaction.
I mean, I’m a guy. Who asks a dude a question like that and expects an answer any different than, say, “Let’s Get Drunk And Screw” by Jimmy Buffett? I mean, it’s just begging for a sarcastic retort, at best.
But your boy–being the mature type such that I am–took the high road. I asked for a few seconds to think about my answer, and I gave one. It was a REAL good one, actually (see #1 below).
And the more I thought about it, the more I came to the realization that all of as guys really should give more thought to that question. It really is an excellent idea to have some really amazing “love songs” in mind…you know, should the need for one ever arise.
Here’s the thing though. I suspect that a lot of y’all are like me. You hear the term “love song” and immediately think of something sappy and wussified like “You’re Beautiful” by James Blunt or “She’s So High” by Tal Bachman.
Heck, even most of the old Motown classics like “Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch” and “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg” are lame because they’re needy as all get out (whatever that means).
Today, with the long weekend approaching I wanted to take a break from the dating advice stuff per se and tell you what happened here at El Rancho McKay this morning.
As she often does, Emily held one of her now infamous “Estrogen Fests”.
Actually, they’re not really called that. That’s just what I refer to them as. The real name for the daytime version of such an event is a “Play Date”.
You see, Emily is the queen of the local MeetUp group for stay-at-home moms with pre-schoolers desperately in need for someone to play with. (I’ll let you decide for yourself whether it’s the pre-schoolers or the moms I’m referring to there.)
For what it’s worth, the nighttime version of the “Estrogen Fest” is called “Mom’s Night In”. The kids don’t show up for those.
One night I somehow got blindsided by a “MNI” and was therefore at home when the “festivities” started. As it so happened, I was booked as a guest on a national radio show that same night. During a commercial break, I conspired with all twenty or so young mommies to shout “hello” in unison to the show’s host right after we got back on the air.
I didn’t give details of how or why there was literally a crowd of women at my house on a Thursday night. The show’s host never asked. Beautiful.
Anyway…this morning’s edition was the “PD” version, of course.
I used to get the heck out of Dodge when these things were scheduled to happen at our house. But sooner than later, I decided I actually enjoyed the idea of a bunch of young women running around my house in the morning barefoot and giggling with each other.
Several days ago FHM released their annual list of the women their editors consider to be the 100 sexiest on Earth.
The key words in that last sentence were “their editors consider”.
As is typically the case when FHM, Maxim and/or AskMen publish lists like this, the comments pour in by the bucketload…mostly from guys who are shocked and appalled by some of the choices. Invariably, they also have a few ideas of their own on who should have been included.
As for me? I pretty much take it for what it is–an opinion piece–and move on. I mean, this latest FHM list was released five days ago and I just now figured that out…accidentally.
But I do think there is one MAJOR takeaway available from lists like this: The truth is that even if some magazine considers a certain woman to be among the 100 hottest on Earth, there’s someone else out there who thinks she doesn’t deserve to be on the list.
Ask any guy what his #1 challenge is when it comes to women and he’ll tell you: It’s gathering up the courage to actually approach them and start conversations with them.
Indeed, the issue is nothing short of pandemic worldwide, attested to by the ever-increasing number of “pickup artist” training courses available out there.
But wait a minute. What if a particular guy isn’t exactly so interested in becoming a “pickup artist”? What if he’s a pretty “normal” guy who’d simply like to have a great girlfriend, and perhaps even a terrific wife someday?
The truth is if you’re that guy, you’re still going to have to actually meet the woman of your dreams before you can build a relationship with her, right?
Given the obvious truth of that statement, it’s altogether remarkable that there has never been a comprehensive plan on how to meet high quality women in particular, start conversations with them and make plans to see them again.
As you may already know, the new program for guys who want to approach and meet high quality women, attract them and make plans with them is called The Man’s Approach.
Based on the tremendous amount of feedback I’ve been getting from guys all over the world, it’s apparent that most guys really do not want to become pickup artists. They’re just normal guys who simply want to meet some terrific great women…instead of kicking themselves every time one comes along and they don’t meet her.
As long overdue as it is in the eyes of many, The Man’s Approach will be your complete blueprint for getting that right from now on.
Mark your calendars, because it will be launched worldwide on Friday, September 10th, 2010.
I’ll have more details later, but for now I thought I’d share some snapshots from last night’s video session. After all, any program that’s all about how to approach women, get their numbers and make plans with them had better have plenty of video, right?
Well, far be it from us to disappoint. You already know my “proof of concept” Emily (in brown). Meet Erika (in the red) and Claudia (in black):
All of these women are as sweet and friendly as they are good looking. In fact, that was a must. Claudia is actually pretty well known nationally for her modeling work, and Erika happens to be one of Emily’s good friends. So you’ve probably guessed that I hand-picked the women I instinctively knew would be perfect for the task at hand.
By the way, the other dude at dinner with us all is none other than Hugo, who you may recall won our worldwide photo contest last year. Guys submitted photos of women they met using what’s taught here at X & Y Communications, and Hugo was the Grand Champion. So hey, I invited him to take part in the demo vids with us. Very nice. As you’ll soon find out, he’s very much a normal guy, and did a great job in the videos, as did the ladies.
The vibe we were looking for was to show natural conversation in a typical, everyday setting…and just let what happens happen. After the interactions, there’s some discussion between us on what was said and done, how well it worked (or didn’t) and suggestions on how to go from good to great.
Going with that style of presentation, to me at least, represented the ultimate “best of both worlds” between running hidden cameras and simply staging rehearsed demos. It really turned out great, and ended up representing a truly innovative (and powerful) way of presenting this sort of content that you guys are sure to enjoy.
Oh, and one other thing. There’s actually another gal featured in The Man’s Approach named Celeste who was recently voted one of Maxim’s “home town hotties”. There are videos from an earlier shoot that feature her also. But I’ve got to keep at least some of what’s coming your way a surprise, so you’ll just have to wait until The Man’s Approach is formally released to meet her…
If you haven’t had a chance to check out the BRAND NEW version of the main website, it has been live for a little more than 24 hours now. If you’ve visited the site in the past, I think you’re in for a welcome surprise–starting with the addition of VIDEO and PICTURES. There are also a BUNCH of new features and resources now built-in for you.
You’re going to see us focus on “real results for real guys” even more fully than we have in the past. Lately I’ve become absolutely more convinced than ever that the VAST MAJORITY of us out there are pretty normal men…go figure.
Yet, any resources on the practical, effective way to get better with women apart from going after the “clubber” lifestyle, becoming a pickup artist, and/or subscribing to a plethora of new-age buzzwords seem to be VERY RARE.
But I know some of you out there still like to shoot pool, listen to the rock station, go fishing, hit the trails and/or park a ’10 Camaro next to the pickup truck in your garage.
You’re evolved and refined, but still a real man to the core. And it’s time to succeed with the highest quality women on Earth, because they’re waiting for us to show up.
This new site’s for you. Grab a cold one and enjoy.
Be Good,
Scot McKay
P.S. Yes. That’s an X & Y Communications toolbar in that screenshot above. You can get one of your own for free right here.
Today I finally got around to seeing Up, the latest Disney/Pixar release.
I have to admit that I knew next to nothing about the flick prior to actually checking it out, except that: 1) It was Pixar, and therefore a “must see”, and… 2) …about two dozen people have called or e-mailed me telling me that Emily and I needed to see it.
Sometimes it’s sort of fun to go into a movie not at all knowing what to expect. This was one such occasion.
All it took was the first fifteen minutes actually. By then I was completely and utterly emotionally exhausted.
Without giving away the entire plot, there is about a five or eight minute segment there at the beginning that chronicles a lifelong relationship between a man and a woman (Carl and Ellie) as it should be.
Now if you’ve seen any Pixar production before, you are already well acquainted with their fanatical attention to detail. The rat-trap pizza delivery truck in Toy Story with “YO” on the tailgate comes to mind, as does Sally The Porsche’s insanely accurate low-RPM engine note in Cars. Only a 911’s legendary flat-six sounds like that. And as women go, she’s all 911.
And without giving too much away, let’s just say Pixar continued the tradition with great dignity in Up…particularly in that first segment.
It’s far from a comprehensive treatise on relationship management, or anything. But whoever wrote the screenplay and whoever animated it had clearly been in love before.
What’s more, they must have been in love and been in a healthy long-term relationship before.
Every little nuance jam-packed in that brief stretch of film is mind-blowing. It’s a rapid-fire animated depiction of how two people who genuinely love and respect each other live their lives together.
If you have any emotion in your soul whatsover, you are left breathless afterward. Emily was in tears, clutching my hand firmly as she sobbed. And if you know her, that’s not typically her style.
I’ll admit I was fighting back the water works myself. Pixar just flat-out gets it.
Simply put, any man who believes that spending one’s life with one great woman is for sissies might want to see this flick, unless he’s dead-set against changing his opinion. Then he needs to make it a point to skip it.
And furthermore, any wannabe PUA types out there who think the ultimate goal for their relationships with women is to notch their bedposts as many times as possible might want to avoid seeing Up also…lest they come face-to-face with what depth looks like in a long-term relationship.
But if you are in a relationship that matters to you–or aspire to–do yourself a favor and go see Up. Walk out after fifteen minutes for all I care. But see the beginning.
Now granted, if you’ve seen the movie Pixar indeed plays a dirty little trick on you over the course of the rest of the movie. At the beginning sequence you’re supposed to believe that something was actually missing from Carl and Ellie’s life together…and that the opportunity to fulfill on it was tragically taken.
Yes, I fell for it. I silently ruminated upon the fact that I’m glad that Emily and I have made it a point to go on “adventures” together, particularly insofar as traveling and seeing the world.
But at the end, Pixar takes the overall message to a whole new level by demonstrating that love in itself is the adventure. It’s what life is all about. And it’s not to be missed.
And neither is Up…if you think you’re man enough to handle it.
OK, the rumors are all true. And pardon me while I have a little fun with this post.
By now you know about my “proof of concept”, @emilymckay. And you know we kind of like each other.
That alone is enough to stick around, if you’re a guy like me. Add to that the fact that she’s my ‘partner in crime’ as a dating coach in her own right, and she really is about the coolest spousal unit I can imagine. She’s also a pretty kick@$$ mom too. Just ask future San Antonio Spurs point guard Scot Jr.
Well, all of that notwithstanding, it’s always good to see someone else recognize how great she is too.
First it was Chickipedia. Next it was an invitation to do a Christian Carter interview. Lately, her Facebook profile has been rated a ridiculous #18 worldwide on Grader.com.
But I have to tell you, this is about as cool as it gets. Emily is now a calendar girl. Seriously.
It all started in December when I entered a pic of her into a contest called “The Social Media Divas Calendar Contest”. The premise was that they were looking for women who were both attractive and involved with Internet marketing in some way.
I don’t even remember telling Emily about it, actually. Well, lo and behold, I got some positive feedback initial from the judges saying that Emily was “under consideration”.
That’s all it took for us to decide it was time to hit this thing with a big, heavy hammer and take some more “professional” shots. For better or worse, this decision was made on the day that so happened to be the final day entries could be submitted. That was December 31st. So basically, while most of you were sipping champagne, we were doing an impromptu “photo shoot”.
I played “photographer”, Emily played “model”, both of us were running a fever no thanks to some cold we’d been ping-ponging about the house for over a week, and I was cranky (go figure).
But the end results came out pretty well, and I entered them into the contest with about forty minutes to spare.
We didn’t hear anything for a few days. That was all good, though, because some new “media photos” of Emily were overdue anyway. So actually, you can see some of the various contest pics, or variations of them, on Emily’s Facebook and Twitter profiles, as well as on Chickipedia and scattered around our own various Web sites.
But then the news came: Emily was voted in. She was officially a calendar girl.
Better yet, I was married to a calendar girl.
As I type, I’m realizing this is starting to get a little thick. But hey, begrudge me this one, will you? I’d be inclined to believe that any guy in his right mind with a blog would be blogging this, no?
So enough, already. I actually promised Mistress Mia, the producer of the calendar, that I would spread the word when the thing was released. So, all of this is actually a long-winded, proud-papa version of me keeping that promise.
You can get the electronic version of the calendar at www.womenwhoruletheworld.com. There will be a hard-copy version shortly that will demand the premium it deserves (in my biased opinion), but for now this one is F-R-E-E to download:
I think the whole thing came out great. Some of our friends like interviewer Heather Vale and fellow dating coach April Braswell actually made the cut also. Conveniently enough, Emily is “Ms. February”, so she’s “on the clock” here for the next four days.
If you want to let others know about the calendar, far be it from me to stop you. If you are on Twitter, please re-tweet this URL, or use the “Tweet This” button below.
OK, even though I am still beaming from ear to ear, I’ll step off now. Back to regularly scheduled programming next time. I’ve got yet another Twitter video for you then, but it will finally have something to do with dating.
OK, so check it out. I realize that you’re probably thinking I must have a firm grasp of the obvious posting a video with a title like this.
After all, shouldn’t everyone be having fun on Twitter automatically? I mean, that should happen by default. Or so you’d think, at least.
Well, even though there are “haters”, nit pickers and even sneaky Amway reps among us, it doesn’t have to harsh your buzz. In fact, I can think of several ways to take your existing level on the Twitter Enjoyment Index (TEI?) and make it skyrocket through the roof…pretty much effortlessly, I might add. Here’s the video. It’s exactly five minutes flat…booyah.
So what did I miss here? Any other ideas on how to make Twitter fun? Sock it to me below, but no…posting “inappropriate” pictures of @emilymckay doesn’t count as an “idea”. But I admire your determination.
By the way, has anyone else ever noticed that people’s demeanor on Twitter tends to match the look on their face in their avatar photos with uncanny accuracy? Come to think of it, I guess that makes me a sly smartass…but an affable sort, at least.
So LOL, will you? I’m trusting you enjoyed this one, and I’ve got more coming soon.
As always, if you liked this particular video, please re-tweet this URL, or use the “Tweet This” button below. I appreciate your help in spreading the good word immensely.
Lately we’ve been having a lot of fun on Twitter, which is pretty much the way it should be. One major way we’ve all been amusing ourselves is by inventing “Twitter Lingo”, or creative terms for various stuff that goes on in the Twittersphere.
Invariably, whenever such a term is used anytime after it’s initial identification and definition, people start @messaging wondering what the heck we’re talking about. I can see why. After all, this is all sort of a “secret vernacular” of Twitter being formed here…right before our very eyes.
So clearly it was necessary to put all the newest definitions in one place. At least to some degree, this video is meant to serve that purpose. Sure, I could have just made a written list or something, but how entertaining would that be?
Bear in mind, by the way, that “established” Twitter Lingo (e.g. “Twittersphere”, as used above) isn’t covered in this vid. You can find a comprehensive Twitter Dictionary here or here. The purpose here is to unveil all-original terms of our own.
So here we go. And fasten your seat belts, because I make no apologies for either the Blues Clues or the Michael Buckley references:
Got any “Twitter Lingo” of your own to add? If so, leave a comment below. We’re already in the process of collecting more, and I can’t help but believe that there will be a sequel to this movie in the near future, perhaps featuring such unforgettable gems as “Twitzerland”.
But as for the next post on deck, we’re going to video blog on “How To Have Fun On Twitter”, by request. If you have bright ideas for video topics, you know what to do. Comment below or email me at scot@twiduction.com.
And if you liked this particular video, please re-tweet this URL, or use the “Tweet This” button below. It’s quick and easy, and I greatly appreciate it.
Here’s the thing. Some of you have been hammering me for quite some time to blog some new Cook For Your Date material. Just not enough of you to get me to get off my butt and do anything about it. After all, everything you really need is in the book already.
Then, about two weeks ago, someone sent me a particularly compelling question. “What about my girlfriend? She’s a vegetarian. What can I do that’s creative for her? After all, the way I see it I didn’t claw my way up the food chain to eat asparagus…so I’m kind of at a loss.”
OK, well…he didn’t word it quite like that. But you get the idea. In any case, it got the file cards turning.
Then, as fortune would have it two things happened. First, I went on a diet. Second, that Bacon Explosion monster appeared on the Internets shortly before the Super Bowl.
So there I was on Twitter one day kvetching about my diet (but crowing about how well it was working) when people started jiving me about how I was missing out on the Bacon Explosion.
My comeback was, logically enough, that I needed to BBQ me up a whole mess of Broccoli Explosion instead.
It was a joke. I didn’t mean any harm.
But the die had been cast. The damage done. The fate, in effect, sealed.
It’s no secret that I personally follow just about everyone who follows me on Twitter. And that’s the way I like it.
Nevertheless, I sometimes get a stray comment here and there to the effect of, “Dude…it’s impossible to ‘follow’ that many people. I mean, there’s like no way you can keep up with all those updates from all those people, man.”
Indeed. But my response to such naysayers is simply this: Your Twitter is too small. If you take a look beyond the surface, there’s an incredible discovery that awaits. Here’s what I mean…
So having watched the video, what say you? I’m all but sure there will be some differing opinions out there, which makes me all the more curious to hear them. Twitter is yet an “emerging” social networking platform, so let’s hear your ideas on the matter.
I already hear someone asking, “Hey, McKay…what about spammers? What about people whose content I find offensive? Do I have to follow them back?” Well the simple answer is, of course, no. And you can also block them from following you. You’re at all times the master of your Twitter domain…literally.
By the way, my auto-follow app of choice is SocialToo.
If you liked the video, please re-tweet this URL or use the “Tweet This” button at the very bottom of this post. I greatly appreciate it.
Next time I post a video blog, we’re going to talk “Twitter Speak”. And we’ll hear from one of our coaches in between. Until then, don’t touch that dial…or, um, the mouse either. Actually, don’t let me discourage you from touching the Dial, especially if that’s the brand of soap you use.