Yo Jay, I just got this book along with 48 Laws of Power (and Survivor by Palahunik too...!) last week.
I got started and read the first chapter about Siren. Nothing to add because that chapter is mainly directed towards women. I *guess* a man could use it but you'd have to be very skillful not only in conjuring up those images and fantasies BUT also make sure you don't come off very AFC (you know, like this guy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ewsk5x7V2sE).
Either way, I could never see myself pulling something like what the chapter suggest. Although, I have had experiences with some Sirens in the past. I was pretty astonished to find so many similarities between what was written about the Siren and from my personal experience with these girls.
I remember one girl, she had a sorta chunky face, but everything else about her screamed pure, raw feminine sexuality! Her jewelry, the way she let her long, black hair flow, her 5'3" frame, her big ass, and her fancy, artsy clothes...just very goddess like! Her eyes were pretty mesmerizing! She had this childlike innocence to her voice, appearance, and general curiosity too.
Funny thing is, she *did* have an effect on all sorts of men. From a borderline flamboyant emo-dressed guy to a wrestling sports athlete to a ghetto ballin' player! These guys seemed to be putting her on a pedestal and generally agreeing with her every chance they got. In class, you could tell that all these guys were focused on her, even though they were staring ahead at the prof. You know what I mean?
I'll be honest, I almost fell into her spell too. Well, I guess I did but I was like Odysseus, and tied myself to the ship so I wouldn't drown but could still hear the Siren's music.
The thing is, it's easy to attract Sirens because a) they want you to attract them so they can put their "spell" on you and b) because you don't have to do anything but put them on a pedestal to make you think that you're attracting them.
However, what I did was I paid 0 attention to her when she was around and that made her think that something was wrong with me (she told me later that she thought I was blind because I wouldn't notice her everytime lol).
Then, I started challenging her beliefs and stance on certain things directly while providing my belief/stance of my own. What this did was show her that I wasn't easily influenced by her grandiose, sexual presence and could hold my own. At the end, we would agree to disagree.
I basically kept upping the ante everytime we interacted and I let her know that she has to do "better than that" if she wants to hold *my* attention and wants *my* agreement. I'll admit this was tough to do because all I could think about was putting her into different sexual positions to see how good the sex would be everytime I talked to her face to face.
I only had sex with her once because it turned out that she was pretty terrible in bed. My desire for her went south after all the makeup, jewelry, clothes, and the idea of great sex came down and left the room.
The point is, Sirens are pretty tough to *not* be seduced by but if you keep some things in mind, you won't be "jumping off ships and drowning" in the process:
- They only want your attention. Don't give it to them. And when you do, make it known that you're not fazed by her beauty and she will have to put up a bigger scene to impress you.
- Challenge them. Ridicule them when the moment is right. Very few men have been able to do that to her before. Become one of these few men and you will see her true self...
- ...which may or may not be what you had envisioned this whole time. After all that outside appearance comes off, she'll be pretty average in bed. Which will just disappoint you because you had thought she was larger than life this whole time, but in the most basic of primal human acts, she's pretty typical.
Well, those are my thoughts and experiences on first chapter. I know we're not on that chapter now but I just got this book after putting it off for a long time. And I just wanted to offer my outlook.
By the way Jay, you should think about starting a study for 48 Laws...I'm sure lot of people would join in because more people on here have read 48 Laws than AOS.