I was excited when I saw this headline today, thinking the NY Times had emerged from its editorial dysfunctions to offer up an intelligent look at BDSM...
but oh. It's a review of a new book about Sally Hemmings.
On the other hand, a book about Sally Hemmings is always worth reading, particularly one which takes a fresh look at the real-life relationship with her owner, Thomas Jefferson, during that heinous chapter of American history. Why *did* Ms. Hemmings agree to stay with Jefferson when she had a chance at freedom? This biographer's suggestions seem more than plausible...but....was there another dimension to their relationship that no one has yet to fathom?
Seeing Past the Slave to Study the Person
When, 11 years ago, DNA evidence convinced most experts that Thomas Jefferson had fathered children with his slave Sally Hemings, many people talked about what the discovery said about Jefferson. Yet few seemed all that interested in what it said about the young girl he owned.....
Ms. Gordon-Reed tries to understand why the pregnant Sally Hemings made the decision to return with Jefferson to Virginia from Paris, where the law declared her a free person and where there was a community of free Africans.
She suggests that an insecure existence in a foreign country, away from her family, would be a frightening prospect for a pregnant teenager. Jefferson promised to free their children in exchange for her coming back to Virginia; she would have a home and a powerful protector.
Category: Sex and History
Posted on 9/29/2008 8:03:26 PM by Gloria Brame
Rope Top's Dream Job
Cool piece by Matisse on pro male doms, including an interview with one guy who's landed many a master's dream job.
Rope Work, by Mistress Matisse
...I am seeing one sex-work career niche start to open up for men: tying up pretty girls for money.
Okay, maybe it's not a huge market. But rope-oriented bondage tops— often called riggers—have a sought-after skill. Just ask fetish/art photographer Lochai, who recently accepted a full-time job as director of the bondage-porn site Hogtied.com. Hogtied is part of Kink.com, Peter Acworth's empire of wildly successful BDSM sites. When opportunity knocked, Lochai ditched his vanilla job and moved himself and his wife from South Florida to Kink.com's home in the Bay Area. A big change, but Lochai's view was, "This can't be passed up!" His job will be essentially that of a male professional dominant—he will create and carry out intense BDSM scenes with models, on camera....
What have people's reactions been like when you told them?
I got a lot of "fuck you, I'm so jealous!" But seriously, my friends and family have been 99 percent positive.
In the "strange news" category last week...didn't quite know what to make of the story of the WVa guy who was charged with battery for acting like an idiot, but glad to see they dropped the charge. I mean, ok, it was wrong -- but battery??? Why not terroristic threat with a biological weapon, then?
Charge dropped against man accused of passing gas
A West Virginia man accused of passing gas and fanning it toward a police officer no longer faces a battery charge. The Kanawha County prosecutor's office requested that the charge be dropped against 34-year-old Jose Cruz.
Finally, finishing out this postcard extravaganze with a selection of random cards. S some have a comical edge, others are purely sexual. Not sure if any of these were meant as postcards, though all are cards and seem sized to fit envelopes, so presumably at least some of them were exchanged among lovers, if not old-fashioned porn collectors.
The first two look like cards an anxious swain gave to a girl he was trying to seduce.
The verse celebrates the sweet hour this couple spent together. I'm guessing this was a card a WWI era French soldier might have sent to, or received from, his lover.
A genuinely old-fashioned school discipline scenario.
Three kinky ladies enjoying themselves. Note the look on the face of the girl resting her head on her Mistress's lap. A moment of genuine sexual submission, caught on camera nearly a century ago.
And this beauty, a 19th century postcard of a rather amazing painting shown at the historic Salon de Paris. No doubt, this was one of the paintings which mortified the bourgeoisie. Pretty hot, isn't it?
Vintage Comic Erotic Postcards: The Strangest Ones I Found
I didn't run out of postcards on Friday -- I ran out of time. Playing catch up now.
These next three cards all deal with...well....Winnie's Pussy and Mary's Monkey. Apparently these were complete series of lewd postcards (circa 1920s?) that found a clever way to elude suppression (unless they were in a private collection for all these years?). I'm fascinated by Mary's Monkey.
But Winnie's Pussy gives me pause. Was the term pussy already being used as slang when this card was produced? If it was, does that mean "monkey" was another slang term for what we today proudly call the hoo-hah?
But if the term pussy was common, then these card would not be very subtle at all, would it? So what is the etymology of pussy? Is it possible that the Winnie's Pussy cards helped popularize the obscenity?
Vintage Comic Erotic Postcards: Biscuit and Sausage, mmmm good
This helpful postcard uses the biscuit to teach young brides how to please a man ("first, know how to hold it" "shake it" "dunk it" "wet it" "suck it").
I love this next one mainly because I have no idea wtf is going on -- my limited knowledge of German doesn't quite unravel its meaning. There's a sausage, and a lady kneeling, and a guy in a uniform. And a sausage.
This one is part of a series of cards showing the girl provoking her lover by getting playful with sausages.
While vintage Continentals took a sophisticated spin on sexuality, later UK and US cards could not quite treat the subject without a certain element of snickering adolescent weirdness,
And, of course, there are some who prefer ham to sausage, and their misogyny stirred but not shaken.
Vintage Comic Erotic Postcards: Mechanical: Woman Spanks Man
I'm running a special extravaganza on the art of the vintage comic erotic postcard today, with an emphasis on cards produced before the 1950s.
All are pretty self-explanatory, even when the accompanying saying or verse is in a foreign language (French and German mainly). I've selected for the odd and unusual and may I just say, there were a whole lot of unusual cards produced in the days when people relied on the postal service for communication. Postcards today are generally designed as travel souvenirs or for marketing purposes, throw-away items we seldom keep anymore. But back in the day, many an artist created specialty cards that were intended to be keepsakes.
I'm starting with my (*cough cough*) hands-down favorite of the batch. A man being spanked by his wife, ca. 1910-1920, with verse advising wives how to handle a submissive husband. And it's mechanical! Pull that little red ribbon and her arm goes up and down.
(Below the graphics, a link to the eBay vendor who's selling this beauty in case you feel a sudden profound urge to add this to your collection.)
Vendor Link: Mechanical SPANKING Fetish Lady male man 1910 postcard (ending Oct-11-08 )
Don't know about that crazy hat, but those shoes are to die for.
Category: Sex and History
Posted on 9/26/2008 6:35:43 AM by Gloria Brame
FOUND: Miniature by Emma DuPuy
Found this beautiful little miniature, attributed to Emma DuPuy. Research on the artist turns up very little about her, other than links to far primmer miniatures she produced 200 years ago, including one of Napolean Bonaparte. Dates are fuzzy too, but she was apparently working in the early 19th century (ca. 1820s - 1830s). If any art scholars know more about her, please let me know.
Category: Sex and Arts
Posted on 9/26/2008 6:34:45 AM by Gloria Brame
McCain to the rescue
Been getting some great political stuff from blog readers in email. Special thanks to Paul and Quill for the funnies!
Cartoonist Kenneth Struck sent this today:
Hmm...sure looks like at least one child got left behind....
Category: Sexual Politics
Posted on 9/26/2008 6:33:47 AM by Gloria Brame
As the Street crumbles
I'll be back to depraved sex shortly....but given what's been going on in the economy, a few words. Long ago and far away, in a dark chapter of my life, I worked on Wall Street. Worked there for seven years, was a registered representative of the NYSE at (the long defunct but infamous) Drexel Burnham Lambert, and ended my durance vile as a financial analyst following the chemicals industry for Morgan Stanley. I was so delighted to quit in 1986, that I've never had anything to do with the financial markets since, except to keep up with trends and news.
Poking around yesterday I came across a fascinating story being told by an oddball group known as "Deep Capture," comprised of journalists and led by the eccentric founder of Overstock.com, Patrick Byrne. Most remarkably, they published a 16-part series detailing a wicked brew of conspiracy, cover-ups, market manipulations and naked short selling. For the three years that Byrne's spearheaded this samizdat, people have dismissed him as a raving loon, and major media gave Deep Capture the cold shoulder. That is until the markets began collapsing last week: suddenly a whole lot of media people, including Forbes, are talking about how naked short selling has led to the instability we're seeing.
For those who keep an eye on the Street, and understand the basics of trading, I strongly recommend you check out the Deep Capture Blog, with links to the entire 16-part investigative series and more.
Maybe Byrne and his crew are nuts. I don't know. But they certainly have a very interesting tale to tell and if it's true, the markets are more kerfucked than even George Bush will admit.
Note to curmudgeons: If you hate ads/commercial testimonials, don't read this.
Though I run a crapload of Amazon.com links on this blog, I try not to push products too hard in my posts. Usually. But right now, Amazon's running a drive to get frequent buyers to sign up for their Amazon Prime program by offering a free trial for new members, both because I want to plug it as someone who's used the service for a couple of years and loves it, and as someone who will get a $12 commission for every new member who signs up. (Transparency, people, transparency.)
If you've ever wondered about it, here goes: for an annual fee of $79 you (and up to four members of your household -- my similarly shopaholic partner Ketzl's on mine) get unlimited free 2-day shipping on everything sold directly by Amazon, whether it's a 12-pack of condoms or a 50-bottle wine cellar The down side is that if you buy from any of the other vendors who sell on Amazon, the free shipping doesn't apply. The upside though is..free shipping! On everything Amazon sells, which is about 90 billion products. Living in a small city, though I can find most everything I'd ever want, I usually have to pay full retail price. Amazon, of course, offers pretty much the best prices in almost every category of shopping on-line -- particularly when you factor in shipping costs.
As great as it is to get books and CDs discounted and shipped free, the real savings though comes when you buy heavy stuff. When we decided to replace all our teflon-coated cookware with cast iron last year, I shopped all over and realized that, hands down, the cheapest way to go was to order it all from Amazon. I got 40-60% off retail prices, free shipping, and the whole set arrived perfectly packed in a box on my doorstep. Had I made the exact same purchases anywhere else, I would've spent at least an extra two hundred bucks. A couple of weeks ago, we needed to replace two small kitchen appliances: a microwave and a mixer. Same thing: Amazon prices beat our local retailers, and two days later, giant boxes arrived on my doorstep, free of shipping and saving us some gas too.
If you only order a book or two a year from Amazon, it isn't worth it. If you tend to order from outside vendors via Amazon, it's definitely not worth it. BUT if you're like me, and buy lots of books on a regular basis, or order gadgets and small appliances and gourmet goodies and even vibrators and lube on-line, paying around $6.50 a month for 2-day shipping is pretty great. If you enjoy getting boxes shipped to your doorstep, instead of having to burn fuel to schlep things home, it's even better.
Check out Amazon Prime
Posted on 9/26/2008 6:31:49 AM by Gloria Brame
Mistress Natural
Last night, very late
It's a quiet dusk in my farming community outside of Athens, Georgia. I'm sitting on top of my bed in my ultimate retreat, surrounded by natural things. Sunflowers and zinnias I cut in our lush gardens this afternoon explode from a hanging vase, lucky bamboo thrives in a standing one. Peacock feathers and mounted butterfly collections hang on the walls and rock specimens sit beside vines growing in mint green planters. My shelves are crammed with odd collections -- incense burners, deco pottery, trinket boxes. My tiny dogs are sleepy and warm, tucked into my body's curves like heating pads. Across from me, my two fish tanks are buzzing, my betta blowing bubbles above and danios and coreys frolicking beneath. In the room across the hall, invisible but stirring, Will is working on a new book. Every now and then, he'll sing along with his iPod. Through the open window behind me, a fresh breeze cools my back and carries the sounds of crickets and frogs and forest creatures. Between the window and the gentle cliffs down to the creek, wild birds and squirrels are stuffing themselves full of the seed and suet and corn I set out.
I don't quite know how it came to be that I've become zoo-keeper/mother-figure to 2 dogs, 3 cats, 17 fish, innumerable wild creatures and -- at times -- 2 great apes. I'm not even sure how I ended up living in rural America, me, the once-was urban NY Jewess par excellence. Nothing in my youth prepared me for this.
I'm humming "this is not my beautiful house"...but it is. It is! And it's not the same as it ever was, either. It feels new. I hope it will feel new for the rest of my life. I may not know how I got here, but I know enough to relish being here.
Now that House is back (yay!), my semi-serious pseudo-crush on Hugh Laurie may officially resume. He's tall, dark and handsome -- and, as House, a foul-tempered badboy genius: what's not to love? In fact, after watching the season's debut show last week, I ended up having some very strange, and strangely graphic, sex dreams about him.
They were niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice. :)
So to further stoke the flames of my quasi-infatuation, I went to youtube and found these fun old clips from his early days with his former comedy partner, Stephen Fry. Fry & Laurie fans, and post-modern Hugh-O-Philes, get ready to laugh. Very silly, very funny stuff, and total affirmation of Laurie's awesome talent.