via Boing-Boing, a hilarious dose of televised humiliation as a bouncy babe's earring gets caught on a singer's suit ... and the fucker won't stop singing!
http://view.break.com/526242 - Watch more free videos
The $6 million lawsuit filed by the New York City street performer known as The Naked Cowboy against M&Ms candy maker Mars Inc can go forward on grounds of trademark infringement, a judge ruled on Monday.
Robert Burck -- for 10 years a fixture in Times Square, who strums a white guitar while dressed only in white cowboy boots and hat and skimpy white underwear -- filed the suit in February over video billboards depicting a blue M&M dressed in his signature outfit.
U.S. District Court Judge Denny Chin denied a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, ruling that Burck may proceed with his false endorsement claim, "for he plausibly alleges that consumers seeing defendants' advertisements would conclude -- incorrectly -- that he had endorsed M&M candy."
I consider this an historic moment for the birth control movement. It amazes me that we make contraception difficult to obtain in the first place. It's a religious conspiracy for sure.
Personally, I am all about the condom, which is the single safest form of birth control and also provides protection from STDs. However, compared to other effective forms of birth control (patches, injections, implants), the pill remains both the most popular and least harmful of the drugs available to prevent unwanted pregnancy. And given that U.S. women are now being turned away or shamed by zealous fundamentalist pharmacists refusing to fill scrips, I'd say the US is in urgent need of a service like this.
Women in Britain can for the first time get the contraceptive pill legally online without having to see medics first.
Medical website DrThom is offering three months' supply for 29.99 pounds (59.25 dollars, 38.95 euros).
Until now, "the pill" has only been available on prescription from doctors or clinics.
The online service will initially be offered to women already on the contraceptive pill but will soon be expanded to those who have never taken it before.
I've missed out on the whole Hard Rock Cafe collectible pin thing, and would gladly have continued to miss it, but these kitschy collectibles caught my eye. (Some of these are so desirable, they're selling on eBay for $150. ) Is this what junior's buying while mom and dad are eating burgers in the back?
Proving yet again, that there's very little new under the sun, here's a sweet picture postcard of two lovely ladies having some wholesome bondage fun in the woods. Couldn't find a date but am guessing late 19th/early 20th century.
From Fibre2fashion, an Indian trade journal for the international textile and garment industry, this lovely little history of the corset, with a blithe reference to corset fetishists and BDSM. Talk about BDSM going mainstream!
from...
Corsetry more than art and illusion
by: Amanda Cotterill
There are still people referred to as "tight lacers" who use corsets to constrict the size of their natural waists to be less than 20 inches in circumference. These people are quite rare, however, and most use corsets as sexy underwear for the boudoir. They are also quite popular in BDSM practices, both for their restriction and just for aesthetics.
Caught something about this on "The Soup," and couldn't believe it was real.
It is. Spray it on a steaming pile of poo and voila! bet John Waters wishes he'd had some for "Pink Flamingos."
POOP-FREEZE™ is an emergency pet product that every pet owner should have. Just keep it under the sink for those occassions in which your pet has diarrhea or loose stool. POOP-FREEZE™ is ideal for new pet owners as thier pets are learning the basics of potty training. POOP-FREEZE™ is also great for seasoned pet owners whos pets occassionally make a mess in the house. POOP-FREEZE™ is safe to use both on carpet and vegetation. Just Frost & Toss with POOP-FREEZE™.
Adrienne So over at Slate has used her natural gifts to come up with the most genius idea yet: an energy-generating bra. Instead of just holding her boobs in place and dispelling that excess kinetic energy into, I don't know, heat, why not use it to power a gadget? According to a breast specialist, a D-cup in a lousy bra moves up to 35-inches up and down during exercise. Professor Wang of Georgia Tech is working on just this problem, using nanowires inside fabric to convert that visual spectacle into something useful. But is it enough to power an average iPod? This Wang says yes.
Link: The Breast Motion Power Generator is a Genius Idea
Category: Sexual Strangeness
Posted on 6/25/2008 3:58:15 AM by Gloria Brame
Gangsta teeth
I'm trying to imagine how I'd feel if I went to kiss someone and saw a little face inside his mouth...
I love the weird bathroom-related stories that make the news sometime. Like..is this really news and does the general public really need to know? Personally, when I travel, I blithely take my chances on whether I'll be sitting or squatting. Maybe assignment editors just figure everyone likes a little toilet humor.
Beijing enlists army of toilet trained staff
Beijing has dispatched 8,000 toilet maintenance staff, each responsible for a specific public restroom in the city and trained in hygiene standards and techniques, Olympic knowledge and practical English expressions, Xinhua said Friday.
There will be selective inspections every week and the results will be posted on the website of the Municipal Utilities Administration Commission, said the news agency.
The city was also struggling with which style of commode would be best, noting Westerners prefer seated toilets, which are more comfortable and convenient for the elderly or infirm.
Hi there, my name is Ian Usher, and I have had enough of my life! I don't want it any more! You can have it if you like!
No, I'm not contemplating suicide, I am going to sell my life!! I have my reasons, for further details click the "Why" tab below. However, I am still not sure whether this is inspired madness, complete foolishness, or just some sort of mid-life crisis.
Whatever it is, it's all going up for sale in one big auction. Everything I have and everything I am.
On the day it is all sold and settled I intend to walk out of my front door with my wallet in one pocket and my passport in the other, nothing else at all, and get on the train, with no idea where I am going or what the future holds for me.
Category: Sexual Beauty
Posted on 6/24/2008 8:42:20 AM by Gloria Brame
FOUND: Percy Grainger, old perv
For you SM history buffs...
Can't even recall what I was reading when I stumbled across a ref. to a once-famous, still popular Aussie composer named Percy Grainger, (1882-1961). Looked him up on Wiki and was agog to read the following:
Grainger was a sado-masochist, with a particular enthusiasm for flagellation, who extensively documented and photographed everything he and his wife did. His walls and ceilings were covered in mirrors so that after sessions of self-flagellation he could take pictures of himself from all angles, documenting each image with details such as date, time, location, whip used, and camera settings. He gave most of his earnings from 1934–1935 to the University of Melbourne for the creation and maintenance of a museum dedicated to himself. Along with his manuscript scores and musical instruments, he donated the photos, 83 whips, and a pair of his blood-soaked shorts.[citation needed] Although the museum opened in 1935, it was not available to researchers until the 1960s.
Lots more about him, his bizarre relationship with his mother, and his musical legacy on Wiki.
Category: Sex and History
Posted on 6/24/2008 8:41:21 AM by Gloria Brame
Putting the sex back into SM
The previous post prompted me to think about just how many times a week I hear things described as sadomasochism which -- to folks in our community -- are not at all what we consider to be sadomasochism. There's been lots of debate over the difference between consent and non-consent, with many (myself including) often arguing that consent is the difference between acts of brutality or violence and acts of (kinky) love.
Getting into the "consent" debate has always been sticky, though, because it is a somewhat complicated notion. Easy to follow mainstream legal POVs (no one too young, no one too mentally disabled, no one too dead). But then there have been all the "consensual non-consent" debates too, and lots of open-ended questions on how to clearly communicate consent for SM without having to put it all down in words and potentially transform a hot, edgy adventure into a bureaucratic exercise.
There has to be an easier way to explain it, both to ourselves and to vanillas. I'm thinking that the easier, simpler way may just be to consider that, at heart, sadomasochism has to be a turn on for both people. Pretty uncomplicated, no? And, really, isn't that the hard bottom line in what we call consensual sadomasochism?
So....for instance...
When people refer back to Abu Ghraib and talk about all the sadomasochism that occurred you can point out that no, that wasn't SM because it's only sadomasochism when both sides (the sadist and the masochists) enjoy it.
When people talk about movies with sadomasochistic scenes, are those scenes along the lines of The Secretary (where it's obvious both parties were getting turned on) or more along the lines of a horror movie, where there's a rampant sadist on the loose and his/her victims are freaking out? Again, I'd argue that unless both parties are getting turned on, what you're seeing is not sadomasochism, but violence.
It could be "sadomasochistic" (i.e., like sadomasochism) of course -- but that isn't sadomasochism either. You can be sadomasochistic if you wear leather or carry a whip or even use a whip; but it isn't sadomasochism unless all parties involved are doing these things for mutual sexual gratification.
One of my little pet peeves has always been how people try to dissociate sadomasochism from sex: they point out that SM isn't sex or isn't even sexual for them. This way of thinking is, IMO, motivated by two phenomena. First, because a lot of SMers bring their conservative vanilla sexual values with them into the SM world and are still guilty and ashamed about how much SM turns them on, and thus won't admit that it is sexual. Second, because the prodom culture has had a profound, perhaps lasting, effect on how heterosexuals view BDSM, some of it good and some of it bad. Skipping straight to the bad, this includes the notion that SM is not sexual -- because if it WAS sexual, it would mean all prodoms are sex-workers (which, actually, is what they are, but many of them live in denial of this fact). By promoting professional BDSM as non-sexual, many prodoms have been able to avoid arrest and/or have successfully achieved acquittals when tried.
Which is good for them and for the rest of us too, since we don't WANT our prodoms in jail, do we?
BUT...it isn't necessarily a POV that has helped the non-pro majority of SMers come to terms with their own sexuality. Worse, it makes WIITWD seem even weirder to straights -- I mean, if we aren't driven by a burning sexual compulsion to engage in hot raunchy SM, then WTF are we doing it at all? I don't think any of us will be receiving the Albert Schweitzer award for humanistic whippings any time soon. One might also argue that taking the sex out of sadomasochism has opened the doors to a whole lot of clueless individuals who get involved in the SM/leather Scene for somewhat despicable reasons, like greed and self-aggrandizement.
Sadomasochism was coined in the 19th century specifically to describe people who were aroused by extreme acts (like flagellation, spanking, bondage). Let me stress that point: AROUSED by. Not curious about, intellectually intrigued by, spiritually affected by, or anything else that is not of the body. Basic rule of SM thumb: If your genitals don't swell when you see SM acts, you should consider attending different parties. And if you don't CARE whether your partners are enjoying themselves, you aren't an SMer, you're a sociopath.
So next time someone points to a serial killer and claims he's a sadomasochist, or tells you about a violent slasher film and calls it SM, please take a moment to share my theory, that it isn't really SM unless both parties are turned on.
Reading an interesting review of a new film by Japanese director Koji Wakamatsu, a reference popped up to an SM-themed movie he directed in the 1960s.
At its peak in the 1960s the brand of kinky soft-core erotica known as pinku eiga, or pink film, accounted for half of all movie production in Japan. Most pink-film directors were anonymous journeymen, but the industry nurtured its share of eccentric talents. Among the most talented and eccentric was Koji Wakamatsu, a gonzo auteur with a knack for eyebrow-raising titles (“Go, Go Second Time Virgin,” “Violated Women in White”) whose most interesting films owe as much to Karl Marx as to the Marquis de Sade....
Working with tiny budgets and minimal locations, Mr. Wakamatsu has long made a virtue of claustrophobia. One of his most notorious movies, “The Embryo Hunts in Secret” (1966), is a study of a sadomasochistic encounter that never leaves the sadist’s cramped apartment.
According to an IMDB user review
I've seldom seen such a mixture of disturbing violence and heartrending visual poetry as in this film by Koji Wakamatsu. There is but so much you can do with the story of a woman who is kept prisoner in an apartment; where she is repeatedly humiliated, beaten and tortured by her psycho boyfriend. Unless your name is Wakamatsu. This is 1966 and we are treated to visual experimentation from bleachers to freeze frames, inventive choice of camera angles and virtuoso editing. In one torture scene the sound completely disappears and we can only see the woman's face contort with pain. This is not cheap sensationalism but a highly inventive film which, here and there, makes excellent use of classical music to underline the action. Although the violence is disturbing one cannot help but feel sorry for the man. His sick, twisted mind is torn between tender feelings for his prisoner and the violent impulses that make him torture her.
From that description it doesn't sound like sadomasochism so much as kidnap/rape/torture. Anyone know the film?
Category: Sex and Arts
Posted on 6/24/2008 8:39:27 AM by Gloria Brame
WTF is wrong with TX?
It's just amazing how many crazy crimes against children seem to go on in that state. Also amazing that a story like this hasn't received a lot of national press, Horrible disgusting story that it is you'd think talking heads would be screaming about it.
Obviously I'm late finding it myself (since a couple of the perpetrators are already in jail), and now a tad frustrated. This report/update on the case is confusing. WAS this a real swingers' group that lost its damn mind -- or was it a pedophile ring all along, pretending to be swingers?
I'll see what else I can dig up on it. Meanwhile, OMG, I feel so sorry for those poor poor little girls.
Texas town reels from horrific abuse in its midst
In the windowless front rooms of a former day care center in a tiny Texas community, children as young as 5 were fed powerful painkillers they knew as "silly pills" and forced to perform sex shows for a crowd of adults.
Two people have already been convicted in the case. Now a third person with ties to the club, previously known in town only as a swingers group, is set to go on trial Monday not far from Mineola, population 5,100.
In all, six adults have been charged in connection with the case, including a parent of the three siblings involved.
Jurors this year deliberated less than five minutes before returning guilty verdicts against the first two defendants, who were accused of grooming the kids for sex shows in "kindergarten" classes and passing off vicodin as "silly pills" to help the children perform.
Category: Sex Laws and Crimes
Posted on 6/24/2008 8:38:29 AM by Gloria Brame
George Carlin RIP
One of my very favorite comics of all time....and truly a ground-breaker for free speech.
George Carlin mourned as counterculture hero
Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television. Some People Are Stupid. Stuff. People I Can Do Without. George Carlin, who died of heart failure Sunday at 71, leaves behind not only a series of memorable routines, but a legal legacy: His most celebrated monologue, a frantic, informed riff on those infamous seven words, led to a Supreme Court decision on broadcasting offensive language.
The counterculture hero's jokes also targeted things such as misplaced shame, religious hypocrisy and linguistic quirks — why, he asked, do we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway?
Carlin on obscenity:
"The whole problem with this idea of obscenity and indecency, and all of these things — bad language and whatever — it's all caused by one basic thing, and that is: religious superstition," Carlin told the AP in a 2004 interview. "There's an idea that the human body is somehow evil and bad and there are parts of it that are especially evil and bad, and we should be ashamed. Fear, guilt and shame are built into the attitude toward sex and the body. ... It's reflected in these prohibitions and these taboos that we have."