“Some of it makes sense to me, and some of it doesn’t,” Rowland told Martinez during their conversation. “I respect it though, because what general parenting is trying to do is break the generational curse of talking at your kids and making them feel seen and respected.” The singer added that she’s using trial and error to find the parenting approach that works best. “I’m unlearning things that happened to me in my childhood with my son,” she said.

Fred used to go to a community health center in Rhode Island, but then accessing care there began to frustrate her.

She described making repeated phone calls for a same-day appointment, only to be told that none were available and that she should try again tomorrow. After one visit, she said, one of her prescriptions never made it to the pharmacy.

And there was another time when she waited 40 minutes in the exam room to consult with a physician assistant — who then said she couldn’t give her a cortisone shot for her knee, as her doctor used to do.

Fred said that she won’t be going back.

What we do know is that recorded rat sightings in New York are at an all-time high. In December, Mayor Eric Adams posted, with great fanfare, a job announcement: The city was looking for a “highly motivated and somewhat bloodthirsty” candidate to take on the newly restored position of rat czar. (A brilliant idea, I thought; I had, after all, suggested that he take such action in an open letter.) Yet, three months later, the position still hasn’t been filled. A few weeks ago, the mayor himself had to pay a $300 fine for failing to control rats at a rowhouse he rents out to tenants.

Dirty talk can be a great way to spice things up in the bedroom and is favoured by both men and women.

But when it comes to sex chat, guys like to have their confidence boosted during the act.

DOES YOUR DOG BARK A LOT? Or is he one of those quiet pooches who barks only when things get really exciting? Most dogs bark at least a little.

Dog barks are not words. But although your dog will never tell you about his parents or the weather or the amazing bone he had yesterday, his barks still communicate important information.

Your dog’s barks may not be words, but he probably barks a little differently depending on what kind of thing has got him excited. If you listen closely, you may find you can tell the difference between a bark directed toward a package deliverer and one directed toward a friend at the door. The bark to a passing dog may be different than the bark at a passing car.

Nothing replaces a good night’s sleep. As noted by Time Magazine, “It’s nature’s panacea, more powerful than any drug in its ability to restore and rejuvenate the human brain and body.”

Anything less than the recommended seven to nine hours has been proven to lead to emotional problems like anxiety and depression, puts you at heightened risk for certain diseases, and may even impact your career according to Harvard.
A lack of sleep also makes any preexisting physical or psychological issues you suffer from worse.

I’m a fortysomething woman and have been with my partner for about eight years. Though I love him tremendously, our sex life has some struggles. The biggest issue we have is that depending on the time of the month, my vaginal lubrication level can be excessive. So excessive that we have to stop and dry off in order to continue. Sometimes he’ll lose his erection all together because he can’t get traction. To make matters worse, he refuses to perform oral sex because he says he’ll “drown.” I resent this especially because I not only enjoy giving him oral, but have made several concessions to make sex more enjoyable for him including learning to tolerate and eventually enjoy anal sex, which he loves. My partner’s penis is an average size when it’s fully erect, and I very rarely have an issue with climaxing. He, on the other hand only seems to be able to climax in one position, doggy style. No matter how we start, typically with me on top or missionary, we end with me on my knees. I’m open to the idea of double penetration with toys but am not sure where to start or how to bring it up. To be clear, this has never really been an issue in past relationships. I have had men say I’m very wet, but it hasn’t had the same impact on my sex life until now. I’m afraid that if this continues, my resentment regarding oral will get worse, and I fear that I will get bored with always having sex in the same positions. I’ve asked my doctors about the excessive lubrication, but I always get blown off because it is the opposite problem most women my age face, and worse yet, they tell me I should consider myself lucky! Any suggestions?

—WAP

I’m a 36-year-old single straight woman, and I really didn’t think this was going to be an issue until later in life. I’m a very sexual person (just reading about sex in your column is enough to turn me on) and I’d like to get married one day, but for the past few years, I haven’t even been able to manage halfway decent sex, much less great sex or a relationship. The problem I keep experiencing in the dating world is the same: men with all kinds of erection issues.

The most recent guy could get hard but would lose it after a few thrusts, saying sex doesn’t do it for him these days (he preferred mutual masturbation or blow jobs). Guy No. 2 was good in bed but refused any touching outside of that 20 minutes. Guy No. 3 required 20 minutes of me going down on his flaccid penis before possibly getting hard enough to have intercourse for three minutes (most of the time, he wouldn’t get hard at all). Guy No. 4 hadn’t had sex in years so he’d either come in 30 seconds or he’d stick it in and barely move so he could last five minutes (I could have worked with him sexually, but we broke up for other reasons). Guy No. 5 completely ignored his problem, continuing to thrust even after I told him he was soft (I suspect he had a porn addiction).

The list goes on. I’ve barely had any good sex in the past six years. I don’t know what to do. These guys are all my age or younger. I try to be patient and understanding, asking if there’s something they’d like me to do or offering up a menu of things they might like, but most just shrug awkwardly and avoid talking about it. None of them sound like they’ve made any effort to get help. I get that it can be embarrassing and men might feel ashamed, but these guys keep cropping up in my dating pool. I can orgasm on my own, but I crave and miss sex, and I know I wouldn’t be happy in a relationship without it. So I’m stuck in a lonely, sexually frustrated land and I can’t get out. Any suggestions?

—Elusive Wood

MACDUFF: What three things does drink especially provoke?

PORTER: Marry, sir, nose-painting, sleep, and urine. Lechery, sir, it provokes and unprovokes. It provokes the desire, but it takes away the performance.

Turns out Shakespeare knew a thing or two about the phenomenon known as “whiskey dick,” or alcohol-related erectile dysfunction. But since Macbeth doesn't offer an explanation for why a dude goes soft when it matters most, we had sixth-year urology resident Dr. Ashley Winter give us the scoop!

What’s going on here? Why do men have erectile problems after drinking?

Winter: Well, the first idea is that the alcohol is directly affecting the penis. Alcohol causes your blood vessels to dilate, which is why people’s faces get flushed. It affects the way the blood moves in and out of the penis, which is, obviously, important for erectile function.