What to see in Venice

Of all the possible heroes, Captain America is not exactly the best demonstration of the inverse fascism of mass culture. Retracing the history, and motives, the way that the character, which is now over 50 years old, was created, is of particular importance in this day and age, with people such as Berlusconi, Zapatero, Chavez, and Obama and other supposed “defendants” of “democracy” tending instead to hide secret plans, or different political agendas which are of little help to the people, and which really have very little to do with the democracy or rights of the people – but rather, with corruption, mafia, the abuse of power, violence and war.

Captain America belongs to that golden age of comic books in the United States, but it went on to enjoy a second round of triumph, in what is known as the “Silver Age.” Captain America’s story is one of pure “American Hero.” Born on the 4th of July, Steve Rogers is a boy from New York who in the face of the bloody saga of the Second World War, Hitler, fascism, and the potential end of the world impending, decides to enlist himself in the North American military forces to “serve his country” and defend it from the threats of the Third Reich. So, after passing some tests, he is rejected for not fulfilling all the necessary requisites. However, after offering himself up for a secret experiment being conducted by the American government, who is looking for a “Super Soldier”, Steve Rogers becomes “Captain America”, with superhuman powers, and speed, and a uniform made from the colours of the American flag, and a shield made from indestructible material, with which he heads off into the war zones to oversee the North American army’s battle against the Third Reich. With the passing of the years, the figure of the character changed considerably – the comic books killed him off, and resuscitated him, making the leader of a group of superheroes by Marvel Comics called The Avengers.

These days, the new version of Captain America reflects this history, and illustrates once again that the ideologies all remain the same, even if the contexts can be manipulated. In a situation of global crisis, with people like Berlusconi, who uses power and corruption to get whatever takes his fancy, where are the real superheroes? When will they start to write stories in which people like Berlusconi are the “evil” enemy – who amongst us is the real “baddie” – and who should be the new face of post-modern heroism? This film harks back to the days of the Second World War and the dangers of fascism – because the idea of the “Super Soldier” and the “American Hero” has little relevance to the times we are living in. Any corporation is in its way fascist in essence. For more information about Captain America, visit http://marvel.com/

Alexa Ray

Get apartments in Venice watch Captain America and reflect on the eternal mistakes of power and politics, the media and`popular culture.

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Translated by: Poppy
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Of all the possible heroes, Captain America is not exactly the best demonstration of the inverse fascism of mass culture. Retracing the history, and motives, the way that the character, which is now over 50 years old, was created, is of particular importance in this day and age, with people such as Berlusconi, Zapatero, Chavez, and Obama and other supposed \”defendants\” of \”democracy\” tending instead to hide secret plans, or different political agendas which are of little help to the people, and which really have very little to do with the democracy or rights of the people – but rather, with corruption, mafia, the abuse of power, violence and war.

Captain America belongs to that golden age of comic books in the United States, but it went on to enjoy a second round of triumph, in what is known as the \”Silver Age.\” Captain America\’s story is one of pure \”American Hero.\” Born on the 4th of July, Steve Rogers is a boy from New York who in the face of the bloody saga of the Second World War, Hitler, fascism, and the potential end of the world impending, decides to enlist himself in the North American military forces to \”serve his country\” and defend it from the threats of the Third Reich. So, after passing some tests, he is rejected for not fulfilling all the necessary requisites. However, after offering himself up for a secret experiment being conducted by the American government, who is looking for a \”Super Soldier\”, Steve Rogers becomes \”Captain America\”, with superhuman powers, and speed, and a uniform made from the colours of the American flag, and a shield made from indestructible material, with which he heads off into the war zones to oversee the North American army\’s battle against the Third Reich. With the passing of the years, the figure of the character changed considerably – the comic books killed him off, and resuscitated him, making the leader of a group of superheroes by Marvel Comics called The Avengers.

These days, the new version of Captain America reflects this history, and illustrates once again that the ideologies all remain the same, even if the contexts can be manipulated. In a situation of global crisis, with people like Berlusconi, who uses power and corruption to get whatever takes his fancy, where are the real superheroes? When will they start to write stories in which people like Berlusconi are the \”evil\” enemy – who amongst us is the real \”baddie\” – and who should be the new face of post-modern heroism? This film harks back to the days of the Second World War and the dangers of fascism – because the idea of the \”Super Soldier\” and the \”American Hero\” has little relevance to the times we are living in. Any corporation is in its way fascist in essence. For more information about Captain America, visit http://marvel.com/

Alexa Ray

Get apartments in Venice watch Captain America and reflect on the eternal mistakes of power and politics, the media and`popular culture.

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Translated by: Poppy
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The Transformers saga, from its origin as an animated series, doesn’t stop representing one of the most constant battles between universal good and evil. But, are we sure? No, not exactly. And it’s because Transformers, like many other mass culture products, just persists in violence and sells to the world the hierarchy of certain nations above others, the abuse of power as well as fascism. The plot of Transformers is pretty simple: according to the first version of the cartoons, a group of alien robots arrives to Earth in the middle of a great battle, between the ‘good’, the ‘Autobots’, and the ‘bad’, the ‘Decepticons’. After a crash landing, both sides arrive on Earth to carry on their war in the middle of humanity, which is completely astonished in front of the presence of such aliens.

The problem here is understanding Transformers further than entertainment. In the recent film ‘Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon’, we’re once again in front of an ‘American’ country that has knowledge above the rest, and that discovers in 1969 that, in fact, there’s alien life, and that the space race of that time between the USSR and the USA wasn’t but a reason to reach the discovery of an abandoned ship on the Dark Side of the Moon. Therefore, once again, all search of knowledge is just a cover up for the urgency of acquiring much more political power, which is actually power but hidden, the power of knowledge that’s not shared, that’s not publicised “due to international security measures”.

The war of Transformers isn’t but two big masses of armed, mechanical and futuristic power on a terrain that doesn’t belong to them, which is planet Earth. In this way, the near-apocalyptic devastation that occurs in the cities that are shown in the film, are just the desert or the jungle or the playing field of two great big power dimensions, that confront their power without the slightest interest of their surroundings. In the same way, the Autobots ‘agree’ to protect the human race and ‘liberate’ it from the iron fist of the Decepticons. Again, this has a loophole, and the judge tries to be the true authoritarian, that of justice.

If we could put a face on Megatron or Optimus Prime, the leaders of both sides, the faces of Berlusconi, Bush, Zapatero, Blair, Bin Laden (RIP), Obama, Rasputin, El Duce or whichever other could easily fit these transformable robotic bodies. Of course one must remember that fascism is everywhere and that there isn’t a good or bad side behind the screen, that the search and desire of power hasn’t stopped corrupting the interest of any subject, that the mega world enterprises are those who have control and that this is a corporate reality where ‘beings from other worlds’ don’t stop fighting to solve their own mafias, leaving the citizens to one side. Watch Transformers carefully and think. For more information visit: http://www.transformersmovie.com

Alexa Ray

Pay more attention when you watch a blockbuster movie from Hollywood, there’s always a message between the lines. This summer, get apartments in Venice and watch Transformers.

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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Usually some artists are linked to their cities of origin in a way that their cities’ culture, images, buildings, activities, general imagery and surroundings, influence their work, producing a cosmogony that becomes universal, and represents the city out above all others. The fetish of the city is not an excuse, or a reason of representation, but it is the need to permeate the city, making it part of a living expression. It would be very difficult not to consider similar cases, let’s think about Dalí and his strong relationship with Figueras, his home town, full of water surfaces, rocks, beaches and small ports, which inevitably came to the surfaces of this genius’ works in one way or another. Consequently, Figueras accompanied Dali’s strokes all the time.

A very similar connection is experienced between Lou Reed and New York, link that goes beyond the visible. For Reed the canvas is a song, a complex operation in which thousands of voices, characters and conditions talk about details of minorities, those isolated and ground voices of the “Big Apple”. Reed incorporates the voice that stands out in every city and with the same talent turns these meaningful surfaces in an universal material that does nothing but dazzle, to approach us to his stories, while letting us know the city from a different perspective.

Ludovico de Luigi is an example built from the imaginary. In his work, the apocalyptic borders on the reality, the surrealism on the disasters and the sensual and romantic come to draw bleak landscapes, in which the impossible comes close to fright us. His first exhibition was done back in 1965 at the gallery “Il Canale” in Venice. At that time, his exhibited works showed a Venice overrun by waves of insects and fantastic beings, taking over the city and its rivers. His work was extended and presented at various international galleries in major art cities such as Paris, New York and Milan. The interesting thing about Ludovico Luigi is that his works uses Veduta techniques, in which the prospects of public space have interesting optical angles, while portraying the idiosyncrasies of a particular time within an urban space.

In this way, Luigi uses these techniques to condemn and portray the elements that constantly threaten Venice. This amazing and decadent aura, represented in his pictures, shows floods, pollution, consumerism, poor technology; everyone becomes recurrent in his fantastic work. Visit his website to learn more about his work: http://www.ludovicodeluigi.it/

Alexa Ray

Nothing like getting one of the apartments in Venice and learn about the city that inspired this popular artist. Learn about his work, it is pure Poetry!

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Translated by: Hans
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Men in their condition of animal species are sexual beings and hence, we get pleasure from different stimuli. We have a million different sensations, some are of extreme pleasure and others of pain or distress, but it makes possible for us to exploit and explore the sensations that we like.

For example, when we are having sex, our partner (or ourselves) can stimulate almost any part of our body and cause us pleasure. Shoulders, back, waist, feet, hands, thighs, ears … Anything goes when seducing the other, but we also know that there are some special points that, when stimulated cause us too much pleasure.

One of these famous stimulation points is the “G-spot”, which women have at the anterior side of the vagina where the bladder can be “touched”. Men have it at the anterior side of the rectum where the prostate can be “touched”. Although this is the most famous spot, it is not the only one. There is also the A-spot in women.

The A-Spot is on the same side of the vagina where the G-spot is (anterior side), but about 3 or 4 centimeters above (in depth). It also stimulates the bladder but elsewhere and thereby it causes pleasure in a different but equally intense way.

In order to reach this point one must introduce two fingers into the vagina and touch the bottom, then take them out about 3 centimeters and start massaging the area very gently, always asking the woman where she likes most in order to find the exact location of each spot.

But like any sexual practice it requires prior preparation time where the two players are pampered and excited, to later reach the orgasm together. With the stimulation of this A-Spot, the woman can have an ejaculation, thing that causes her even more pleasure.

d.b

Ideally, to enjoy these new sexual practices, the couple should be in a quiet, nice and private place where one can relax and surrender to pleasure. For this, rent apartments in Venice and enjoy the beautiful city and sex.

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Translated by: Maria
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When, for whatever reason one has to assume that sex will have to be practiced in the distance, a new world full of new sexual practices more or less satisfactory but all with a common goal starts… in order not to break the relationship maintained with the partner who is far.

The most important thing is to make sure that none of the parts forgets about the other one. This is the main reason why breakdowns occur. And if your partner is hundreds of miles away, it is difficult to maintain any kind of relationship. So we have to draw their attention but, how? There are hundreds of ways to make oneself be remembered, from the romantic ways to the most extravagant ones. For example, in the first group there are those who write love letters daily to our object of desire.

This is a typical way to win back the heart of the lover but beware, if the mood is wasting away it will be reflected in your writing, so be careful. In the second group we have the “foolishness” that we can use and that usually involve a major expenditure of money like, for example, waving the name of the beloved person in the tail of a plane. In between these two worlds there is a surreal universe where one can “be” virtually with the couple in a cinema, a zoo, cinema, a theatre, a museum… a thousand ideas.

Also, one must be prepared for the reunion. For example, in order to forget about everything else, there’s nothing better than escaping to an idyllic place where you both can enjoy. For example, Vienna, which is one of the most romantic cities.

mia1603

Renting one of the apartments in Venice the city of love, it’s a good idea to wander around like two lovebirds. It’s always nice to devote some time exclusively to our partner to make them enjoy and, even more, if this time takes place every certain time.

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Translated by: Maria
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We should all reserve the right to enjoy sex, right? So, what happens when we don’t enjoy it – what happens when the orgasm isn’t synonymous with pleasure; but, conversely, with it’s absence? Anorgasmia – or the disorder of the orgasm means the absence, or the persistent elusiveness of the orgasm after a period of normal sexual excitement. The Royal Academic dictionary simplifies this to “absence or deficiency of the sexual orgasm.”

In any case, I think the meaning’s clear. And if you suffer from anorgasmia, you should definitely seek professional advice, because there are solutions out there. Though it’s an issue mainly associated with women, men can get it too, and either way, individual psychotherapy is recommended.

But, what causes it? There are various different explanations – for example, that it is due to incorrect stimulation of the clitoris – or the more psychological side of things, such as anxiety, feelings of guilt at feeling pleasure, lack of confidence, and more seriously, as a result of a previous trauma such as rape or sexual abuse.

Along with these kinds of causes are people who suffer from anorgasmia due to medication or drugs which affect the nervous system.

So you see, there are all kinds of reasons, but they can all be treated, so if you suffer from it yourself: don’t suffer in silence, and visit a doctor. There is help available. It just requires a bit of time, and patience – but when a couple has confronted their sex issues, all that remains is to enjoy each other, and make up for lost time.

mia1603

You could, for example, plan a romantic trip to the city of canals, where you’ll be able to surround yourself with the love and mystery of the city. Rent apartments in Venice and enjoy some exploration of yourself too…

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Translated by: Poppy
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Well, many people tried to reply to this question and find how many orgasms may have a woman … but can anyone tell for sure? To be able to offer an answer, a group of researchers made an experiment using diverse techniques of recording the woman orgasms such as electrodes fixed on the female body, video cameras and other magnetic recorders.

The female-volunteer who accepted to be part of this experiment, had sex with few different male partners during few hours, being carefully supervised by the researchers’ team. Once a male partner got to the moment of ejaculation, he was soon replaced by other men and the experiment continued in this way until have been registered 50 female orgasms.

At this point, even the female-volunteer was more or less willing to continue, the researchers decided to stop the experiment as they have run low of recording items. However, they concluded that 50 registered orgasms for a woman, is a pretty good result which shows and explains how female excitability works. Basically, the conclusion has been that there are two different types of orgasms: one type may be caused by clitoris stimulation and the other one by vaginal penetration.

The scientific analyze of how a woman is reacting and what she is feeling during having orgasm, showed that approximates two minutes before, in the female brain are stimulated the “pleasure” nervous centers which are the same, for example,  as when she is eating her favorite food. Then the brain excitation goes on to other 30 nervous centers, all being usually excited during the happiness moments. Depending on how many nervous centers are involved, the orgasm will be more or less intense and the pleasure will last a longer or shorter period after getting the orgasm.

No matter if a woman will have only a single one or multiple orgasms during sex, important is to feel comfortable with her partner and to try to reach together the pleasure as intense as possible, knowing that quality is maybe always more important than quantity.

Greenday

Tonight I have a date with my boyfriend. We’ll go to have dinner together and then we’ll walk to the city. I think we’ll remain over night here, that is why now I will rent one of the apartments in Venice to assure that we’ll have a romantic time …

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The Bukkake is not a very common sexual practice that involves more than two people. By definition it has to do with many men ejaculating on a woman, but today this practice has widely spread and now there are many variables.

The interesting thing about this sexual practice rather unusual is where it comes from. Some centuries ago in Japan, men who were cheated by their wives, punished and humiliated them by allowing other men to pour out their semen on the body of the cheater.

The other men participating on this practice were from the same community and at that time the meaning of this practice was the same as for us today to “spit on someone’s face” as a form of humiliation. But over the years and with the globalization of sexual practices, this activity became famous among some women and men willing to play in bed.

In the 70s, this practice was popularized in Japanese adult films and since then the diffusion of this sexual practice has not stopped.

Today this practice is done with respect and consent of the parties while performing group sex. The Bukkake is no longer used as punishment in Japan or anywhere else in the world, but it served as inspiration to create new sexual practices, especially those performed in groups. It is also possible to do Bukkake with your partner, even if only one person ejaculates on the other.

d.b

It is always good to have alternatives when it comes to sex. Playing and seducing each other is always positive for a couple. If you rent apartments in Venice you will have total freedom and comfort to have sex in the way you better like.

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Translated by: Hans
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Venice, Venice! I’m all ready, I’ve got my bags packed! Or so went the terrible song made famous in the 80s by the “G Men.” But forget the song. Venice continues to be one of the most beautiful in Europe. As well as offering endless cultural options; museums, cinema, concerts, festivals; if you go during the high season, and you’re into the great outdoors, you can’t miss out on the Venice Lido, a truly charming space for anybody wanting to get their bodies out in the open.

The golden sand at the Lido is fine, and the waters are clear – the perfect meeting point for the international nudist community. To get to the pretty island which inspired Visconti and Death in Venice, you have to take a water-bus, the famous Vaporetto, and you’ll be there in about 40 minutes. The best thing about the Lido is its paradise like quality – the small isle, which is 12km long, is the greenest of them all, and stays in your mind long after. Before you take off your clothes, I advise you walk round the labyrinthine Venice for a few days, and leave the Lido till last. Always leave the best till last, trust me.

You’ll find a diverse range of hotels – some luxury, and some with bars next to the sea, such as the Hotel Des Bains. Be sure to wear your best “look” because it’s a bit like being in a fashion show. At the Lido there is also the Cinema Palace, which is where the Venice Film Festival is held. You’ll also notice the huge casino in front of the Palace – it opened back in the 50s, and is only open during the summer. There’s nothing quite like flirting in a casino – but you could also gamble a bit on your own too. You’d never guess what happened to me once in Las Vegas… And on top of all that, there is also the San Nicolo neighbourhood to visit, where there are many ancient gems to marvel, such as the San Nicolo monastery which dates back to 1044.

The nudist atmosphere of the beach is the best part. The Venice Lido is one of the few nudist beaches you’ll find in Italy, where you can give in to nature, and meet new people. As you can imagine, these kinds of places are tourist hotbeds during the summer season, so I suggest you plan your visit for during the week. And of course, don’t forget to buy an original Venice mask. The people in Venice are lovely, and if you don’t know the language, you don’t have to worry about communication – without clothes, as I have said before, all languages become one, like before Babel.

SISTER RAY

With the summer heat drawing close, why not find apartments in Venice and chill out at the Lido – if you are looking for one of the best nudist spots in Europe, it won’t disappoint.

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Translated by: Poppy
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