The Marilyn Manson Guide to Surviving A Break-Up

Marilyn Manson clearly doesn't believe in hoovering tubs of Ben and Jerry's after a split. He goes straight for the medicine cabinet, and channels his rage into art. So his new video for 'Running to the Edge of the World' is, surprise surprise, pretty graphic. He kills a bikini-clad girl who looks a LOT like his ex-girlfriend Evan Rachel Wood. Guess talking to Spin magazine about how about how he called her 158 times after they broke up, and took a razor blade and cut himself on his face or his hands--because he, um, wanted to show her the pain she put him through wasn't cathartic enough for him. Oh, and he admits that 'every day' he has 'fantasies about smashing her skull in with a sledgehammer.'

Celebrities often act out elements of their doomed love affairs to sell singles (Justin Timberlake, Peter Andre) but adding murder to the mix definitely ups the weirdness factor. Then again, we've all had dark thoughts after a break-up and Manson isn't acting on any of his homicidal impulses. So, is making a video about murdering a look-alike of your ex therapeutic, or disturbing?

Why do powerful men cheat? Because they can...

After years of blubbering politicians and their crocodile tears, it's pretty ironic that a comedian has set the standard for serious public confessions. David Letterman's straight-talking admission that he's done 'creepy' things, while not his finest hour, was done the right way. No bullshit public apology, no mention of a higher power, no miserable-looking wife wringing her hands while being forced to stand by her man in the background. He explained the facts to a sympathetic audience (on his terms!) and now hopes to move on.

Of course, the press is still trying to dig up dirt - most recently about a bedroom that 'sources' are calling 'the bunker' (it's probably closer to a fold-out couch!) But really, if he has had other consensual affairs with staff members, who cares? He cheated because the opportunity was there, and found a pool of willing women after spending intense 15-hour days with them. He's an entertainer, not a politician--so he has no responsibility to maintain a standard of morality. Though to be honest, I respect Dave more than most politicians. Hey, at least he's not a hypocrite.

Roman Polanski Finally Arrested

So Roman Polanski finally got arrested, and will be fighting extradition on his 32-year-old sex case. I'm not going to go into all of the details of the case, because everyone under the sun already has, but I just have to wonder: Why is Kanye West getting demolished in the press for grabbing the microphone at an awards ceremony, while someone who committed a crime on this level is being defended? Yes, he's made some amazing films over the past few decades. Yeah, I loved 'Chinatown'. And I'm all for him getting a fair sentence. But his awards don't change the fact that he drugged, raped and sodomized a 13-year-old child. I don't care if his victim forgave him. It's time to come back to the US and face the music. If there really was 'substantial misconduct' during the original hearing, these charges need to be addressed in court. Unfortunately for Polanski, this can't be tried by a jury at Sundance.

Does separate beds = Marital Bliss?

I just did an interview on BBC Radio Wales talking about the study that claims sleeping in separate beds is the key to a happy marriage. Some people think that it harms intimacy, but personally, I think that having my own room would be awesome. In some of my past relationships where snoring has been an issue (theirs, not mine!), I've slept in the spare room, and it didn't mean that we were in buttoned-up pyjamas in twin beds. We would have hot sex, then I would go into my own private room, so that while he was snoring like a buzzsaw, I slept through the night and was in a much better mood come morning. I'm not saying that it's for everyone, but it's an option worth considering.

If I ever get married, I want my own bathroom. In my mind, a two-bathroom system seems to be the key to relationship longevity. I don't want to know what happens behind his door, and I don't want him to know about my hair removal regime. As far as he's concerned, I'm naturally hairless below the eyebrows. Period. Maybe that's what my mum meant when she talked about 'preserving some mystery'?

Updates!

Hi Everyone, Sorry it's been a while since I've posted....I've got a few updates!

1. 'Sleeping Around' isn't running as a weekly column in The Independent anymore, but the SA blog can still be found here.

2. Sleeping Around (the book!) is coming out in the United States on September 1, 2009 and I'm so excited! I'll post updates about the launch as we get closer. It will be in stores throughout the nation - sorry Mom!

3. I am working on a third book. It's fiction, and it's a black comedy - but don't worry, it will still have plenty of naughty bits. I'll let you know more soon...

4. My love life does sometimes still resemble a train wreck in slow motion. But at least I'm not settling - I can't agree with Lori Gottlieb on this one. Settling, to me, feels like a slow death. I would much rather be happy alone than lonely with someone else!

Modern Sex: Catherine Townsend logs on to the new revolution

In the 21st century, technology is allowing people to express their desires and fulfil their fantasies in ways never before possible – and all at the touch of a button.

After watching Blade Runner recently on late-night television, I wondered: whatever happened to all those scientists' predictions that humans would be having sex with robots by now – or at least in the very near future? After all, Ridley Scott's film is only set in 2019.

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Apparently, scientists may soon be able to erase fear and trauma from patients' minds. The technology is meant to help people cure phobias such as fear of spiders, but my mind immediately turned to 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'-style wiping out of the pain of failed relationships. After one particular ex-boyfriend left me broken, I literally longed for a mind-erasing device, and have asked myself many times if I would take a pill that would have allowed me to forget the pain. At the time when I was drowning in pints of Ben and Jerrys and self pity, I would have taken the pill without question. But now, I think that the pain has made me stronger--and without it, I would have kept going back to the same bad relationship patterns (and probably the same guy!) over and over again. With some perspective, I think that our bad experiences (and bad break-ups) make us who we are, and would not want to forget a single second of my life. The pain happens for a reason--so that hopefully, we LEARN and don't keep making the same bad choices. As for confronting phobias, surely that should be done by facing fears head-on instead of messing with people's memory?