Actually, it seems to me that "why are these the good adjectives?" is a very interesting question. One answer is because they have to do with the intense sexuality we expect from our dark heroes; and this, I think, has a historical element. Being attracted to someone who happens to fit these adjectives is another matter entirely, of course: once a particular person is involved, the actual fact of who they are comes into play. Your question, Mia, I take to be about a certain kind of mystique. One could imagine very different mystiques, which each rule out a certain number of adjectives on the list: the Arnold Schwarzenegger variety, the Julius Caesar variety, the Michael Jordan variety, the John-Travolta-in-Grease variety, for instance.  What do we learn about ourselves from what we are attracted to?

It's hard to enter completely into anyone else's structure of desire, so I thought we could try something of an experiment. Here is a femme fatale in 1930 singing a song. I would describe her appeal as coming mainly from a kind of matter-of-fact worldliness. It's difficult to understand exactly the kind of sexuality she presents: she's very literal, no Mae West, in my opinion. But the gangsters fell at her feet. (Is it fair to judge a singer by a voice?)


Michelle Pfeiffer sings the same song sixty years later in "The Fabulous Baker Boys;" which I'm not sure needs an analysis. Would someone in sixty years feel differently?

To return to the original question, Mia, you've described a certain character; what exactly about this character appeals to us? And how much of this is modern?

Those are striking and impressive traits for one sun sign!

Mentioning you're a Scorpio is like free advertising: You didn't hear it from me, but rumor has it I'm great in bed. Who wouldn't drop this into conversation at any opportunity. It's the only sign that doesn't really have any connotation of astrology. It's more like a secret club.

In the Middle Ages apparently it was different: it was like mentioning you were totally untrustworthy. Hey, Scorpios had to put up with a lot in the past. I say go for it.

Solveig, about Ruth Etting, she's not my type but I think her picture goes well with her voice. You see the kind of attitude.