The Benny Hill Show (1969 - 1989) had a sexual energy, featuring double-entendres and leggy starlets from the bottoms-and-bosoms school of British humor. I can still remember watching the reruns late at night when I was a kid and getting in trouble for laughing so loud. Thanks to the loose British-TV standards in regards to feminine nudity and ribald humor, Benny Hill maintained his following with a potpourri of smirky, suggestive jokes and burlesque comedy sketches - always redeemed by the performance’s bad-little-boy ingenuousness. Hill’s cherubic face can make even the raunchiest skits charming.

In this episode, “Wishing Well”, thanks to the magic of you tube we can still enjoy the ridiculous antics of this dodgy old man!

For the proactive dater who doesn’t just sit around wishing for that certain someone, check out this fantastic video about pick up lines by Daily Bedpost.

A funny video on how to be sexy when chowing down on bar food.

image source and tips source 

1. When you’ve got your sight set on the man you desire, let your gaze linger longer than usual.2. Once you’ve caught his eye, let yourself go on a visual journey of his body. If you sense that he likes it, you’re well on your way to seduction success.

3. It’s still all bout the eyes. When you are on the prowl, make sure you dress to impress. Think “well-groomed,” “alluring,” and  “flirtatious.” Not “Jerry Springer guest” or  the “before” picture on a makeover.

4. Do some recon and figure out how to give him butterflies on your first date.  What arouses your date? Excites him? This means that when you are flirting, pay attention to what he says and ask questions that allow him to reveal his loves and likes.

5. Smile. No, not hysterically. But just so you seem approachable and friendly. Also, make sure your actions suit the mood of the encounter. You may even want to mirror his body language at times…a subtle message that says “I feel you.”

Just for the record, read this to find out dating don’ts.

 Velvet Hammer is perhaps one of the best burlesque troops in the country, and they have a new book out of amazing photos of the girls in the groundbreaking group that jumpstarted the Neo-Burlesque movement. Here’s the promo video. If you’re not 18, you don’t watch it.

This little video lays out the whole game of flirting and the battle of the sexes with one fell swoop…

Immodesty Blaize certainly knows a thing or two about seduction and tease. The burlesque performer is up there with Dita von Teese on her side of the pond, guesting on popular TV shows like “Faking It” and “Britain’s Next Top Model.” She’s also teamed up with lingerie label Madame V to create the Showtime Collection.  I found this interview on Knickers, a lingerie blog, and thought that the performer had a few good explanations about the appeal of burlesque in our day. I mean, who can resist the aesthetics and ideals of something that oft gets described with words like “coquette,” “tease” and “opulence”?

From the Knickers interview:

You create your own performances, and work with a great deal of women to bring burlesque to the stage and screen – is this “new” burlesque an example of women reclaiming their own sexuality?

Not really, I think women have been reclaiming their sexuality for quite some time before the burlesque revival! I think my performances have an undeniable erotic content, but they are also pieces of very elaborate theatre, and they are conceived with as much detail of theme, costume, prop, music and set, as one would a theatricalpresentation. So for me there’s a lot involved. I think in this way, women are attracted to the glamour and opulence as well as the erotic content. I think they like the humour too, it’s cheeky, it’s teasing, it’s clever. I wonder if somehow it feels accessible to more women therefore, than with other forms of erotic entertainment.

For the uninitiated, can you describe burlesque for our readers, and tell us about how you came to be a burlesque performer?

Burlesque means literally ‘to parody’. Simply put, it is a form of ironic cabaret, which is to say it is very tongue in cheek. It is also
a genre known for having a strong erotic undertow. It started in London in the 1860s, but it was the Minsky Brothers in ‘30s New York who truly put the glamorous striptease in burlesque, which gave rise to legends such as Gypsy Rose Lee, Lili St.Cyr, and Dixie Evans who is still going strong today.

For me, becoming a burlesque showgirl was a natural progression. As well as being reared on old Busby Berkley musicals and camp old Hollywood classics, as a teenager I became a huge fan of pin-up queen Betty Page and through her I discovered the legendary burlesque star Tempest Storm. I, myself had blossomed into a classic hourglass shape which I have to say was not popular at the time – it was all super-waifs and heroin chic…so images of women like Tempest Storm with their beautiful powerful womanliness really spoke to me and I knew I wanted to make the most of my curves in the same way!

We love the burlesque style because it looks amazing on women of so many sizes – do you think part of burlesque’s popularity is because of this celebration of a woman’s curves?

Partly, yes, although I’d say there’s no right or wrong body shape for burlesque. Certainly the classic old bombshell look of Mae West and Marilyn Monroe was full of curves, and then the legendary performer Lili St.Cyr was tall and lithe with legs up to her armpits! So I think really it promotes the idea of character and individuality. It encourages women to find their own alter-ego! In addition, I think we are at a point where people are getting bored of grungy reality shows, and they want live entertainment; theatre, fantasy, and proper old music again. I also think women and men alike are loving the chance to take time to dress up. Certainly I’ve noticed more women enhancing their silhouettes by wearing foundation-wear again, so suspender belts, girdles, basques, retro-shaped bullet bras are around…great!

What essentials would you recommend for a woman who wants to try out the burlesque look herself?

I don’t think there is one ‘burlesque look’, since burlesque is a form of entertainment rather than a fashion style. It spans 150 years,
so it has lived through fashions as diverse as the corseted Victorian, the fringed flapper, and the 50s pinup. However I would always
recommend that the ladies experience the joys of a good pair of nipple tassels!

In case you were wondering, here’s a link to an academic study telling you how you can flirt with him without saying a word. Ah, the ol’ wrap play with your hair while you’re talking trick DOES have a basis in science! Well, here’s another gem about how to spot if your partner is lying…And this video is priceless, really. Watch how the man breaks down female body language.

So, a recent study from Indiana University and Yale showed, in a nutshell and in a study of college-age men and women, that sending a sexy message with non-verbal clues can be as easy as just being friendly! Your signs of friendliness are likely to be read as signs of sexual interest.
Why? The article reads:

“Scientist have long known that young men are more likely than women to confuse friendly non-verbal cues with cues for sexual interest but the explanation for the gender difference has been less clear. The more popular of two competing theories attributes this to a tendency by young men to over-sexualize their social environment. The less popular theory — and the one supported by this new study — claims that women have an advantage when it comes to interpreting facial expressions and body language expressing a variety of emotions, thus are more likely to accurately ID cues for sexual interest. Young men are simply less literate when it comes to non-verbal cues.”

Ah, men. Always having to SPELL things out for them clearly…

The wild world of online dating…for all the beasts in the jungle, there are for sure a number of loyal stallions worthy of your love. But how can one find such a creature?The first step is creating your profile to really reflect you. SeXXXyMamacity69 is just never going to attract her Mr. Big, now, is she?

I suppose, number one would be “choose a username that suits you.” WantstohaveBabies36 is probably going to be off-putting,  but something related to your profession or your interests might fly well. If you like hiking, why not TrailMiss? Cheesy, cute, silly. Sounds like an approachable gal.

Next,  apparently, when you have a picture up, your hits go up by like 15 percent. So, choose a pic that will attract the kind of man you are looking for. Go ahead and flatter yourself with a good image, but keep it real, natural, and in a setting that says a lot about you, but not too  much (for privacy reasons, you may not want pictures of your home and what not, but a cozy photo in an armchair wouldn’t hurt). [Apparently, the woman in my mind is a nature-loving, no-nonsense bookworm with a love for updated shabby chic...adjust your profile accordingly ;)] . If you can put up more than one photo, why not let each one tell a bit about you. 25 MySpace-pout shots just don’t really say more than Paris Hilton did with her album.

Lastly, when writing your profile, think of unique details that describe you. How will you set yourself apart? Will it be in your writing style? The vocabulary you use? Unique interests and adjectives? A good rule of thumb is “The first thing you write will be cliche. Toss it out. The second will be better, but still a little generic. The third one, you’ve had to work for, so it’ll probably be the most original.” Be yourself.

And of course, ladies, safety safety safety. Be safe. Don’t give away personal contact info or life details that people who have things that aren’t love in their hearts could use to find you, harass you or other unpleasant realities of this old world. Here are online dating dos and donts.

Too cute! Little robots teach you how to flirt. Aw, bless.