Entries Tagged 'Bondage' ↓
August 27th, 2008 — Bondage, Fetish, Lochai, Photos, Recommendations, Shibari, Shopping, Stuff and Things
Doorway Butterfly by Lochai
Well, if it’s not evident to everybody in the entire world, I have a thing for Lochai. I actually fell in love with Lochai’s work long before I developed this thing I have. I knew the images before I knew the artist.
Anyway, here I am again, writing about Lochai, or “Perfect Lochai” as Marky refers to him whenever I speak of him at home. This time, I’m writing about his art. If you read my blog on a regular basis, then you already know that Lochai’s award-winning image, “Beach Bound,” now hangs in the World Erotic Art Museum.
Aside from Beach Bound, which will remain at the WEAM indefinitely, there are several museum prints available to purchase. Museum prints are special because there is only one, and they are marked (”M”) as museum prints. I don’t know, I just personally like feeling like I have something special.
Beach Bound is actually available to purchase as a print, but not the museum print copy of it.
You can find all of the images on Kirinawa.com that are being sold. In my last conversation with Lochai (today) he said that a few have already been sold and so therefore, are not available. Those that are not available as museum prints are:
- #3 - Aftermath
- #16 - Iris
- #23 - Madison Retro
- #24 - Pony Up
- #34 - Self-Portrait
- #35 - Angela Idles
You should email Lochai directly if you are interested in buying one of the WEAM museum prints - double check that it’s still available and find out about pricing. Oh, and a little insiders tip: it’s worth noting that prices will double on the prints after the move to San Francisco.
August 22nd, 2008 — Affiliate Programs, Bondage, Domination, FetLife, Fetish, Hogtied, Lochai, Movies, Press Releases, Quid Pro Quo, Shibari, Submission, Updates, Websites
Lochai "working" at Hogtied.com
SAN FRANCISCO (August 22, 2008) – Award-winning fine art bondage photographer Lochai will take over from Matt Williams as director of Kink.com’s Hogtied.com, the company announced today.
“Hogtied was our first site and we still consider it our flagship,” said Kink.com founder and CEO Peter Acworth. “We’re very pleased to bring Lochai on to continue the Hogtied tradition. He’s one of the best-known bondage riggers around and for years he’s been out there in the community, both as a photographer and as an educator. Most importantly, he really gets what’s fun and beautiful and hot about women in bondage – he understands the Kink.com esthetic. I’m very much looking forward to working with him.”
Lochai’s inaugural update on Hogtied.com is a sizzling 56-minute scene with 22-year-old Virginian beauty Isobel Wren. Shot when Lochai was auditioning for his new role, the scene currently headlines the site, In it, Wren is placed in Lochai’s trademark Japanese-influenced rope bondage and subjected to a stunning number of screaming orgasms, including a copious squirt. Throughout, Lochai’s sardonic humor tempers the intense bondage and stimulation.
Said Lochai:
“Everything that’s done in any of the Kink.com sites is real, so it’s not like I’m acting a part. I’m actually being myself. I’m sarcastic, I’m a smart ass, I laugh during scenes and I also console when someone’s upset. I’m going to be doing my real play, my real life, within the walls of the Armory, because that’s what’s expected by the customers — and that’s what’s expected by Kink.com. I’m going to be super comfortable there, because I feel like I’m home.”
An award winning photographer whose work appears in galleries as well as in publications like The British Journal of Photography, Secret, Skin Two, Bizarre, and in his own fine art books, Lochai is equally well known as a bondage educator, teaching classes at conferences around the United States and doing public scenes in nightclubs and at fetish events. A founding director of the Photo Artisans Guild (PAG), in West Palm Beach Florida, he was also the co-founder and co-curator of the Traveling Erotic Art Show, which spent two years touring the United States. He also moderates a group on BDSM social networking site FetLife, CommUNITY Building, that seeks to build BDSM and alternative sexuality leadership skills.
Lochai takes over from longtime Hogtied.com director Matt Williams, who began directing the site in 2003. Williams was recently promoted to Kink.com’s Creative Director, and will be guiding creative development on new sites as well as Kink.com’s existing sites. “I’m looking forward to helping with the overall creative level,” said Williams. “I’m going to work with existing sites and new sites both, developing the look and feel, and sharing fantasies that I have in my head — I have great ideas for each one of our sites.”
Williams will continue to direct unscripted girl-girl erotic wrestling site UltimateSurrender.com, which he calls “my little baby.” “I’m going to hang on to that – I have some great ideas for the future.”
Lochai expressed his excitement about his new role.
“Every person who’s ever sat down in front of me in a classroom, or who has surrounded me out in a club to watch what I’m doing, has wanted this job. They want to get paid to tie up beautiful women and get them off – and that’s my job. It’s a wonderful feeling, and an affirmation that my kink pays off.”
A longtime Florida resident, Lochai will be relocating in September to the San Francisco area. He says he’ll continue his work teaching bondage and SM lifestyle classes, both at the half-dozen conferences he traditionally attends annually, and in the San Francisco area.
For more information about Lochai, visit his site Kirinawa.com or email the Kink.com Public Relations Manager at thomas@kink.com. Webmasters interested in promoting Kink.com content, including Hogtied.com, please visit www.KinkyDollars.com or email the Kink.com affiliate manager at terry@kink.com.
ABOUT HOGTIED.COM: Hogtied was the first site in the Kink.com network, directed by founder Peter Acworth from 1997 until Matt Williams took over in 2003. Updated every Tuesday, Hogtied.com offers members more than 15,000 streaming minutes and more than 84,000 photos in over 400 episodes that feature beautiful women subjected to sexual rope bondage, erotic punishment, and repeated orgasms.
ABOUT KINK.COM: San Francisco erotica studio Kink.com provides authentic fetish entertainment that seeks to demystify alternative sexualities and inspire sexual adventurers. Since the launch of its first site, Hogtied.com, in 1997, Kink.com has developed a network of premium adult sites that now operate from studios in the San Francisco Armory, a decommissioned National Guard facility with sets ranging from stark dungeons to luxurious pieds-à-terre. Kink.com also operates a free documentary site at BehindKink.com and the leading fetish affiliate network, KinkyDollars.com.
August 22nd, 2008 — Blogs, Bondage, FetLife, Fetish, Hogtied, Lochai, Movies, Mr. and Mrs. Kink (dot com), Mz. Berlin, Pro Photo Tours, Quid Pro Quo, Recommendations, Satine Phoenix, Shibari, The Week In Kink, Toys, bestsexbloggers.com, madison young, politics
ProPhotoTours.com - Side-by-Side, Start-to-Finish Photographic Workshops
Last week I took the easy way out and sent you to BestSexBloggers.com. This week I did my homework! I included blogs that aren’t on BestSexBloggers.com. Of course I’ll start with a synopsis of our own blogs. We haven’t been writing as much of our own content - this week we became the marketing department for Fetlife.com. If you haven’t checked out Fetlife yet, what are you waiting for? It’s the best social networking site for kinky people just like you!
This week’s Week In Kink is brought to you by the caffeine and nicotine keeping me awake to write it.
August 21st, 2008 — Blogs, Bondage, Books, FetLife, Hogtied, Lochai, Movies, Quid Pro Quo, Recommendations, Reviews, Shibari, Spanking, Stuff and Things, Websites, Weight Loss
Postsecret.com every Sunday!
Life is very busy and I’m not sure how much I’ll get a chance to write. This is truthfully one of my favorite blogs to write because it’s just the one where I get to sit down and say ” blah “. What comes out comes out.
Today we officially became the marketing department for FetLife.com, which is exciting! Marky is really the genius at it. I talk to people. I’m good at networking. He’s good at actually making the deals in the dunes. Between the two of us we’re a great team. We think in such different ways that what seems obvious to me wasn’t to him and vice-versa. You can advertise through FetLife.com by contacting me (catalina@fetlife.com) or Mark (mark@fetlife.com).
Also big announcement today from Lochai. He was offered and has accepted the position at Kink.com as the new webmaster/director of Hogtied.com. He recently went out there (to San Francisco) and did a shoot. You can watch it here. I am fortunate enough to have seen it already and I’m telling you - I adored Lochai before, but now I adore Lochai. What a yummy scene. That’s all I’m saying about it. You have to see for yourself!
Another crazy announcement in my circle: Audacia Ray is no longer writing The Naked City. I know?! What the hell are they thinking? Sometimes I wonder.
In other news - I received copies of Rachel Kramer Bussel’s books Spanked!, Tasting Her, and Tasting Him. The thing is, I think that Marky is supposed to review Tasting Her and I was to review Tasting Him, but I like both books! Being bisexual means I get to review both :) I need to get to work on reviews though, because I have a few books and movies that I need to give my opinion on - I know my opinion influences the greater society as a whole, and without it you will be paralyzed - do I buy the book or not?! What about this dildo?! What does Catalina Say?!
I can’t remember if I already mentioned this, but I’m writing now for Trufetish.com and I think this month I’m going to write about polyamory, feeding off of the two articles that are already there. I’ve been on both sides of the pond, as a couple with a girlfriend or a boyfriend and also as the girlfriend of a couple. It’s also a topic that I’ve been discussing a lot lately with close friends.
I am also writing now on The Femmes Guide. It’s an interesting thing, the Femme’s guide, “a sex-positive femme queer collaborative blog”. It was brought up the other day by the editor of the blog that we aren’t a very diverse group - that aside from one of us (me) we are all “white, fat, femmes with advanced educations.” This brings up the issue of me being an ex-fat femme. I’ve been looking for a place to write about this phenemona - the loss of an entire human being (130 lbs. so far) and how the rules have changed. The game is different. I am not quite sure how to navigate through society in this new role. I don’t want to write too much about it here yet, or else why would you bother to go there to read it, but I think it will turn into a nice article.
Well, that about covers everything I can come up with at 4 am. I’ll be back in a few hours, at it again…
August 16th, 2008 — Blogs, Bondage, Fetish, Lochai, Reviews
[This is cross-posted from the Miami New Times Blog]
Fri Aug 08, 2008 at 11:52:04 AM
“Curves” by Lochai
Browsing his most recent show, you get the feeling few people enjoy their job as much as photographer Lochai.
His Beach Bound exhibit at the World Erotic Art Museum (1205 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach) is a study in Lochai’s various fetishes. While front and center is the theme of women in bondage — hence the show’s title — the photographer’s NC-17 tastes clearly run the gamut: the images include a nun in a leather gas mask, a naked woman perched above a toilet, and an androgynous figure in a full-body rubber suit, lying in a bathtub being pummeled by running water from the spout above.
But as unlikely as it sounds, the images aren’t necessarily shocking — nor does that seem to be Lochai’s intent. And instead of the violence you might expect from a portfolio of bondage photos, there’s a playfulness instead. In images that might otherwise invoke terror — for instance, the pair that shows a woman left bound by a hotel bed, or in an eerily domestic living room — the subjects gaze with a mix of mockery and intrigue at the camera.
As to whether you should go to this show, it’s fetishism — either it gets your attention or it doesn’t. If you’re a regular reader of “Savage Love,” you’ll probably find this exhibit, at the least, entertaining. If you’ve ever protested a gay Teletubby, on the other hand, you should probably save your cash for Miami Spice.
If you do go, be sure to wander around the rest of the museum, which is surprisingly expansive for a place that’s very missable from the outside. They’ve got it all here, with perverse pieces from all over the world, ranging from the contemporary (an 8-foot golden penis statue) to the ancient (Chinese jade dildoes). You won’t look at a lamppost, or a bald guy, the same way for the rest of the day.
– Gus Garcia-Roberts
August 13th, 2008 — Altered Aperture, Blogs, Bondage, Books, Claire Adams, Ellie Lumpesse, Fetish, Graydancer, Lochai, Ms Nikki Nefarious, My Naughty Secretary, NCSF, Photos, Shibari, Shopping, Stuff and Things, Toys, Updates, Websites, fundraising, politics
I am overwhelmed with emotion and at a loss for words at the outpouring of support that people in our community have shown our family by donating prizes for the raffle, buying tickets, cross posting to spread the word, and the kind words that have gotten us through a very difficult time. We are proud to say that our personal need has been met and good (us, the sinners) triumphs over evil (them, the morally superior). To feed off of Graydancer’s post, we have proven that “a community proving that a community of pervs cares more about her education than an administration full of assholes.”
This means that instead of being my personal mission to fight for my daughter, I am on a bigger mission for the greater cause. I recognize that I am not the only person going through this battle. In fact, it’s a series of small battles that are all a part of a greater war on personal freedom, often with children in the crossfire.
This shouldn’t happen, but if you’re living an alternative lifestyle, it very well could happen to you. The only way to combat it is to put on the armor, link up arm-in-arm, and take them on as a commUNITY. That is exactly what I’ve seen in the last few days and I think we can do more!
The raffle continues, as it is scheduled to end on Sunday (8/17/08) at 10pm, but from this point forward, all proceeds will be going to the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom as a contribution from the community that has stood together and won this battle. This is our way of supporting the war that has been waged in the land of the free against personal and sexual freedom. At the end of the year, the refunded monies will also be donated on behalf of this community.
The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom is a national organization committed to creating a political, legal, and social environment in the United States that advances equal rights of consenting adults who practice forms of alternative sexual expression. NCSF is primarily focused on the rights of consenting adults in the SM-leather-fetish, swing, and polyamory communities, who often face discrimination because of their sexual expression.
My deepest gratitude to those who have supported and continue to support this cause. I have never felt such a sense of community in my entire life. So here is the current prize list for the new official National Coalition for Sexual Freedom raffle. Check back, as we seem to be adding prizes daily.
From Lochai there are three 5×7 museum signed prints from his recent exhibit at the World Erotic Art Museum, two of them are not only museum signed prints, but are also very limited editions.
Alley Bound and Curves are a limited edition of 10 museum signed prints. If you win, you will receive either 6/10 or 7/10. Beach Bound is Lochai’s iconic World’s Most Erotic Photograph winning piece, and is a signed museum print. (Sold normally at $75/print)
Ellie Lumpesse has donated three books:
The Straight Girl’s Guide to Sleeping With Chicks by Jen Sincero
Aqua Erotica by Mary Anne Mohanraj
The Ultimate Guide to Fellatio by Violet Blue
Ellie is also offering:
a 30-minute private phone session (that can include her amazingly sexy man) if you win.
Sam donated:
custom, hand made jewelry (a necklace and earring set) to a runner up. “It’s not a kinky prize, but pretty,” she said. Pretty indeed! Take a look: http://quem98.livejournal.com/306470.html
Thursday and D donated:
a signed 8×10 print of any one of their photographs
a copy of the book, The Mammoth Book of Illustrated Erotic Women.
And Thursday has also offered:
one of her sexy (orgasmic) voicemails to a lucky winner. Let me tell you, that is one hot prize.
The writer of Between My Sheets offered:
A brand new, still in the package, never been used Silver Bullet Vibe.
And just now I heard from my Naughty Secretary who offered:
Her services as a graphic designer. There are two separate prizes - each being two hours of graphic design time (normally charged at $120/hr). In addition to participating in this raffle, she is doing her own auction to raise money. She is sponsoring a silent auction of one of her paintings on her web page.
Edward, from Exjinn.net, the company that hosts all of our blogs and provides us without outstanding support and service, has offered:
A 50 gig hosting plan from Exjinn.net with 1-year of service.
Essin’ Em:
just donated a copy of the book, Wetter, with her story signed personally for you. As if that weren’t generous enough, she has also offered an 8×10 print!
Sabrina Fox - does the name ring a bell?
Sabrina Fox, as in the redhead hot as fuck bondage and fetish model, Sabrina Fox, was chatting with me today and mentioned that she has a few pairs of latex panties that she recently wore for a photoshoot that would offer as prizes. Latex panties worn by Sabrina Fox, anyone? Oh wait until I tell W about this when she is older.
Jeff Mach commented: (THANK YOU, JEFF!) [This is one of those prizes that I would like to know if you would like to be entered to win. If you're not in the area and can't use the tickets, then they would do you no good, but if you are in that area, then it's a great prize!]
I am running a New Year’s Eve fetish event in New Jersey at the end of this year (on NYE itself). I’ll offer a ticket (that is, admission for two people, including gourmet meal and champagne)
and
I run the Wicked Winter Renaissance Faire, now entering its fourth year, every February - again, in Jersey. We’re going to three days this year, and tickets for all three days would usually be at $40; I can donate two pairs of those, as well.
I feel like George from “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Graydancer, who posted a very insightful post about the society that we live in, just twittered me (it sounds dirtier than it is) and said:
I didn’t realize you were adding prizes. Throw in an audiobook version of my novel, “Nawashi“.
Rose Fox offered a very generous and naughty prize — a very good combination for this crowd!:
I used to review DVDs for AVN, and I’m still on Vivid’s mailing list, so now I have a closet full of unopened Vivid porn DVDs. I’ve been trying to figure out how to donate them someplace and would be delighted to offer them for your cause.
There are too many to catalog, so perhaps 10 “grab bags” of ten DVD’s? I’d do my best to include a varied selection so that the winner is fairly likely to get at least a few titles that suit their tastes.
(Just a note on this: because of the laws regarding the selling of pornography, the winners would need to submit a copy of their ID to Rose in order for her to be able to send them to you.)
Beautiful Rebecca has offered:
an original piece of sensual art from the artist. It was scheduled for a gallery show next year but we would much rather have it go to your cause as it hit home. It is 3×4 metal with an object representing a uterus called, “Oikos Cella”.
Alternatively, for those who win, but don’t feel that this art is right for their home, she is an interior designer and has offered to do a consultation for a room re-do. The details are kind of extensive, so I’ll discuss it with the winner personally.
Ms. Nikki Nefarious and AlteredAperture.com) has donated prints and a rope kit:
Collette for TABU Magazine 8 x 12
Jamie in Latex 8 x 12
Girl’s Best Friend 8 x 12
Scream 8 x 10
GarGirl Bound 8 x 10
The Enforcer 8 x 10
Sarah Sealed 8 x 10
Red Hood 8 x 10
and then A Starter Rope Package (4-pack of multi-colored ropes in different lengths and hemp rope cuffs)
Lily, who calls herself Lily (the rope ho) in her comment has donated
3 x 30ft hand-dyed, processed 6mm hemp kit
Radical Vixen, who most of you know as the editor of the weekly sex blog digest, Sugasm, is a very active political advocate. She has offered two books for the raffle:
She’s on Top: Erotic Stories of Female Dominance and Male Submission
Sex and Bacon: Why I Love Things That Are Very, Very Bad For Me
Thank you, so much! I cannot tell you how moved I am by the random kindness of the community. Lochai’s the one who started the commUNITY concept, but I get it better than ever now.
I’m officially re-launching the “Catalina’s Emergency Tuition Fund Raffle” as the “The Battle Is Won, But the War is Not Over” raffle with all remaining proceeds from this point forward going to NCSF.
Tickets are $10.00 each, you can buy as many as you’d like (if you’d like to donate $50.00, for example, I’ll enter your name 5 times). You are not obligated to buy a virtual ticket. You can also just donate to a very worthy cause at any amount.
I really will write down names and put them in a hat, and my daughter can pick the winners. At this point, she is well-aware of what is going on. We’ll choose the winners on August 17th at 10 pm. You will be notified by 10:30 pm by email. Heck, we’ll even try to find someone to film it and show it to you all :)
August 11th, 2008 — Altered Aperture, Bitching, Blogs, Bondage, Books, Claire Adams, Ellie Lumpesse, Fetish, Graydancer, Lochai, Movies, Ms Nikki Nefarious, My Naughty Secretary, Photos, Shibari, Stuff and Things, Toys, Updates, fundraising
Buy A Raffle Ticket To Win A Limited, Edition, Museum Signed Print From Lochai
I’ve never discussed this on my blog before, but recent developments have prompted me to discuss the reason why I’m no longer a teacher. Being Catalina isn’t always a good thing. I separated early this year with my school as a peaceful way to avoid a public scandal that would ultimately affect my teenage daughter, who attended said school.
Part of my agreement I cannot legally discuss - specifically the reasons and terms of my separation - but use your imaginations. I can say that I agreed to leave quietly and peacefully under the condition that my (straight-a’s, honors courses, award-winning, athlete, without a discipline record) child be allowed to attend her last year of middle school just as if I had resigned at the end of the year. Let me spell this out for you. Faculty receive a substantial tuition discount. I pay 10% of the tuition. This roughly amounts to $1,100. After leaving, all faculty are offered one more year for their children at the faculty tuition discount as a way to avoid disrupting their children’s lives too much.
A few days ago the head of my former school called me to tell me that had rescinded his offer and that she was no longer welcome to attend. In the same phone conversation, he changed his mind and decided to honor our agreement. Well, kind of. I came in with the tuition and they refused to accept my payment.
Later I received an email that stated that on top of the faculty tuition, I am also expected to pay student fees, which are not covered under the faculty discount. Okay, so throw in another $900. I can come up with that, even if it means the car payment doesn’t get paid.
The straw that broke this camel’s back? The additional $1,000 expense account that is being demanded by the 18th of August to cover her lunch account (which was roughly $750 last year) and field trip expenses (which are roughly $250). I requested that she not be allowed to charge a lunch in the cafeteria and that she will bring her lunch, which is an option available to (other) parents, to have this fee waived. The field trip charges, I can’t really object to, that seems fair, so mental tab up to $2,200.
I’ve just been informed that the school is unwilling to waive the expense account fee for her lunch account and demands the entire amount be paid. If it is unused it will be refunded to me at the end of the year. Nice of them to at least offer that. This brings up my new grand total to $3,200 in 8 days.
I went from having her tuition paid to being a mile away.
I have never been as upset as I am right now. For a “Christian” educator to use a child as a pawn in a moral battle against me, and what I represent, is unethical - it’s beyond unethical - it’s reprehensible.
So I’ve played all of my cards, my hands are tied. He wins right now. Because I have been judged a whore, my child loses.
I refuse to allow that to happen. For the first time ever, I am asking my readers to help me. I’ve asked my readers to support the arts (artists, photographers, and other bloggers) but never asked for financial support on my blogs for myself or my family. Today that changes because my child is involved. Today I ask for your support for my daughter’s education and future.
Similar to the project I did for Lochai, I am asking for donations towards my daughter’s education fund. I spoke to Lochai this afternoon, and he has offered to donate three 5×7 museum signed prints from his recent exhibit at the World Erotic Art Museum, two of them are not only museum signed prints, but are also very limited editions.
Alley Bound and Curves are a limited edition of 10 museum signed prints. If you win, you will receive either 6/10 or 7/10. Beach Bound is Lochai’s iconic World’s Most Erotic Photograph winning piece, and is a signed museum print. (Sold normally at $75/print)
On top of Lochai’s unbelievably generous offer, several people have contacted me since posting this and asked to donate items to be raffled off as well. Now, from Ellie Lumpesse we have three books:
The Straight Girl’s Guide to Sleeping With Chicks by Jen Sincero
Aqua Erotica by Mary Anne Mohanraj
The Ultimate Guide to Fellatio by Violet Blue
Ellie is also offering a 30-minute private phone session (that can include her amazingly sexy man) if you win.
And one of Janice’s friends left a comment in my blog that she would donate custom, hand made jewelry (a necklace and earring set) to a runner up.
“It’s not a kinky prize, but pretty,” she said. Pretty indeed! Take a look: http://quem98.livejournal.com/306470.html
Thursday and D have also offered a signed 8×10 print of any one of their photographs and a copy of the book, The Mammoth Book of Illustrated Erotic Women. And Thursday has also offered one of her sexy (orgasmic) voicemails to a lucky winner. Let me tell you, that is one hot prize.
Then I got an email from a total stranger, the writer of Between My Sheets, who offered:
A brand new, still in the package, never been used Silver Bullet Vibe.
And just now I heard from my Naughty Secretary who offered:
Her services as a graphic designer and artist. She is looking into which painting(s) she is going to donate, but she has committed to two separate prizes - each being two hours of graphic design time (normally charged at $120/hr).
Edward, from Exjinn.net, the company that hosts all of our blogs and provides us without outstanding support and service, has offered:
A 50 gig hosting plan from Exjinn.net with 1-year of service.
Thank you, so much! I cannot tell you how moved I am by the random kindness of the community. Lochai’s the one who started the commUNITY concept, but I get it better than ever now.
Essin’ Em, the pansexual feminist sexpert on her way up, just donated a copy of the book, Wetter, with her story signed personally for you. As if that weren’t generous enough, she has also offered an 8×10 print!
Sabrina Fox - does the name ring a bell?
Sabrina Fox, as in the redhead hot as fuck bondage and fetish model, Sabrina Fox, was chatting with me today and mentioned that she has a few pairs of latex panties that she recently wore for a photoshoot that would offer as prizes. Latex panties worn by Sabrina Fox, anyone? Oh wait until I tell W about this when she is older.
Jeff Mach commented: (THANK YOU, JEFF!)
Prize donations, a few: - I am running a New Year’s Eve fetish event in New Jersey at the end of this year (on NYE itself). Tickets are probably going to be something along the lines of $250 per couple - we were actually finalizing that this week. I’ll offer a ticket (that is, admission for two people, including gourmet meal and champagne) for the raffle, if you’d like.
and
I run the Wicked Winter Renaissance Faire, now entering its fourth year, every February - again, in Jersey. We’re going to three days this year, and tickets for all three days would usually be at $40; I can donate two pairs of those, as well, if it will assist you.
I feel like George from “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Graydancer, who posted a very insightful post about the society that we live in, just twittered me (it sounds dirtier than it is) and said:
I didn’t realize you were adding prizes. Throw in an audiobook version of my novel, “Nawashi“.
Thanks, Graydancer! I appreciate it! I didn’t know I was going to add prizes either, until people started offering. The outpouring of support in the various ways people have shown it is very moving. Some people can afford to show their support by purchasing a ticket, some people are supporting us by crossposting, some are offering prizes, some are doing all of the above and then some. I even consider it supportive just to see comments from people who happened upon it and have shown emotional support.
In the comments this morning, from a total stranger, Rose Fox, was this offer, which is generous and naughty — a very good combination for this crowd!:
I’m here via the person who donated the jewelry. I used to review DVDs for AVN, and I’m still on Vivid’s mailing list, so now I have a closet full of unopened Vivid porn DVDs. I’ve been trying to figure out how to donate them someplace and would be delighted to offer them for your cause.
There are too many to catalog, so perhaps 10 “grab bags” of ten DVD’s? I’d do my best to include a varied selection so that the winner is fairly likely to get at least a few titles that suit their tastes.
Thank you, Rose — I don’t know anybody, personally, who would turn down a handful of DVD’s. And you’re really giving away 10 prizes, not just one, so thank you x 10! You’re right, there’s got to be something in there that turns that key in the lock. (Just a note on this: because of the laws regarding the selling of pornography, the winners would need to submit a copy of their ID to Rose in order for her to be able to send them to you.)
Also in the comments this morning was a message from Beautiful Rebecca offering a piece of original sensual art:
I have an original piece of sensual art from the artist I live with I would like to donate. It was scheduled for a gallery show next year but we would much rather have it go to your cause as it hit home.
The List Keeps Growing!
Please read this post on CatalinaLoves.com
to see the most recent list. Good stuff! I’m overwhelmed by the contributions people are making to make this raffle a big success.
I’m officially launching the “Catalina’s Emergency Tuition Fund Raffle”, here is the link to buy your virtual ticket. Tickets are $10.00 each, you can buy as many as you’d like (if you’d like to donate $50.00, for example, I’ll enter your name 5 times). I really will write down names and put them in a hat, and my daughter can pick the winners (of course I’ll come up with some vanilla reason why she’s doing it). We’ll choose the winners on August 17th at 10 pm. You will be notified by 10:15 pm.
August 5th, 2008 — Altered Aperture, Blogs, Bondage, FetLife, Lochai, Masturbation, Mr. F., Mr. and Mrs. Kink (dot com), Stuff and Things, bestsexbloggers.com
Graphic Design by Naughty Secretary
Bestsexbloggers.com is officially open for business, I have hung my shingle outside the door and rung the bell. The result is already exciting - sex bloggers and writers from all genres, styles, and every label imaginable combined with the images of the best erotic photographers have made for a very neato place to visit. I’m already hooked, and it’s my blog! Kind of. I mean, I started it and made it, but the result is not the result of my efforts, but the community.
I got the idea for a community blog from Lochai, who introduced me to the notion of commUNITY. We’re not just writing for our readers now, we’re writing for each other - networked tightly - forming the perfect (almost perfect) group of work by intertwining each individual’s. I think it’s nearly orgasmic.
Speaking of orgasmic. A few things worth noting - in case you missed Lochai’s comment on a previous post, it said:
Catalina,
You are by far the most beautiful, wonderful woman in the world (after my wife that is)! This show would be a fraction of what it is if not for you and your er….. talents.
Luv Ya!
L-
Also worth noting is that I called D earlier and masturbated and came for him on his voicemail so he can listen to it over and over again. Soon thereafter I got a call from Thursday, who was clearly on her way to her own orgasm, so while I listened to them fucking, MDS stripped my clothes off of me and threw me on the bed and had his way with me. I came three times, between his cock and his tongue, on the phone, as I listened to D and Thursday getting off together. Um, yum.
When it rains, it pours, right? Here it’s stormy! Kinkerbelle is coming for a visit in a few weeks and we have some good plans! They include me (the star!), Kinkerbelle, MDS, Mr. F, and Altered Aperture - and if we can talk her into it, we’re going to throw Miss Ellie Lumpesse into the middle of it all! (Cross your fingers)
And it’s a good thing I’m on the East Coast or I’d probably already be in the middle of JC and his girl.
That about cover’s the day’s kinky activities. I’m going to go work on the interview I did with Claire Adams. Oh, that got your attention, did it? Yep, keep an eye out and you can read for yourself what she had to say.
Congratulations, Lochai, on a very successful opening night reception at the WEAM! Of course, you were a hit. You’re LOCHAI!! I’m not the *only* one who adores you!
August 5th, 2008 — Blogs, Bondage, Books, Coldplay, Domination, Español, Fetish, Graydancer, Podcasts, The Good Things List, Toys
Viva la Vida by Coldplay
All the best things I could find for you in one week, and some things I have forgotten to include for a while now. I’m a little late this weekend, because I spent a little too much time socializing. However, in my own defense, against myself, I would say that I have worked 18 hour days 7 days a week for … what seems like an eternity. Okay, enough self-rationalization. I’m late, but no rabbit had to die. Here is this week’s Good Things List - hopefully it’s a better version than Martha’s.
A Good Blog To Read!
Fanny Lucette is a Ph.D. psychology professor, with M.A. degrees in related fields. She has been a counselor and educator for many years. She recently wrote a guest post for me on Catalina Loves (thank you thank you thank you!!) and she will be joining the new community blog that will launch soon at bestsexbloggers.com. Her blog is not a sex blog per se, but as she describes it on her page, “All of us have questions about relationships, sexual thoughts or behaviors. My life experiences and professional credentials will help you sort through it all.” So take a look and hit your RSS feeds because you’ll want to keep up with Ms. Lucette once you’ve started reading.
A Good (Strap On) Dildo
Strap on play. Three little words, but they can invoke an entire mental scene, can’t they? Strap-on sex. Imagine the scene. Is it a lesbian scene? Do you see it as a Domme/sub scene? Is it a loving couple experimenting with assplay together? It really can be any and it can be all. The fact is, I have used strapons with women, as a professional dominatrix, and also as a loving wife (even a submissive loving wife, at that). I choose the Corsette Harness as my new favorite strap on harness because it’s soft, velvety, black, feminine, and (important for practical purposes) it adjusts easily so it’s easy to slip in and out of gracefully.
A Good Podcast
Graydancer’s “The Ropecast” is the new home of the premiere rope bondage podcast. This podcast talks about kinky sex, consensual adult bondage, and discusses dominance, submission, sado-masochism, and the iniquieties of the square knot in a frank, open, and entertaining way. (I didn’t write that, by the way, but it is all true and well-written, so why re-invent the wheel? I copied and pasted from The Ropecast site).
A Good Book
It’s going to become very obvious to you soon, so I’ll just ‘fess up now - I am definitely kissing Graydancer’s ass this week. Why? Because I’ve admired him for so long and I practically begged him to be a part of bestsexbloggers.com. I told him that I would, in fact, kiss his ass, if he would join. He joined, so here is Graydancer’s book, Nawashi - A Novel of Erotic Magic. Take a lookee and buy a coppee.
A Good Educational Opportunity
Did you know that you can take free courses online from MIT (yes, that’s the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT). Well, kind of. Read carefully, but essentially they make their course materials available online and though you don’t get credit for it, you can learn for the sake of learning. Now here’s the cool thing, to me, anyway. I thought that MIT only offered courses in science and math. I was wrong. Here is the course description of the course I’m currently taking:
Este semestre la materia combina obras ya canonizadas de finales del siglo XIX y del XX con algunas obras de reciente aparición. De los géneros literarios, vemos poesía, el cuento corto, la novela y la autobiografía. También vemos una película de tema ficticio y dos documentales. El estudiante que se interese por hacerlo puede usar los materiales en la Reserva y en la red para familiarizarse con la historia literaria y cinematográfica de este período. Nuestro enfoque principal, sin embargo, será leer bien y de modo analítico, textos literarios de diferentes momentos históricos y culturas nacionales (e internacionales). Aunque discutiremos analíticamente las tres películas, su interés principal para nosotros será, en un caso, conocer el argumento ideológico de una novela muy famosa e influyente que, por falta de tiempo, no vamos a poder leer en sus totalidad, y en los dos otros casos, para contextualizar una autobiografía y tener un punto de comparación para estudiar cómo se puede reconstruir la memoria simultáneamente individual y colectiva. Otros temas, que se estudiarán en varias obras, serán el bilingüismo (español/inglés) en ciertos escritores hispanoamericanos contemporáneos, y el auge de la novela best seller en la América Hispana.
So, in case you can’t tell, that’s an advanced Spanish literature course. Who knew I could brush up on my primary field of study with free online courses from MIT?! I just found out recently, but I’m on it! The Catalina Downer Disclaimer: You might have to buy books and don’t forget that books are not free. Ever. So, though the courses are free, you can’t necessarily say that you can take any class you want for free. Sorry. But this is about as close as you can get!
A Good Corset (and lingerie)
Mio Destino is located in Europe, but delivers worldwide and has a domestic office. Their corsets are undeniably quality. You’re not buying an ebay corset, this is the one you’ve been saving up for. They aren’t so horribly expensive that you can’t afford it unless you’re married to a very wealthy international finance attorney, however, they’re not cheap either. The selection is unbelievable - corsets by designer, shape, by fabric, corsets to wear out, bridal corsets, underbust corsets, and corset skirts. They are the way to go if you’re in the market for that special one.
A (PERFECT) Album
Viva la Vida by Coldplay is amazing. Brian Eno produced it, so when I first heard it, I rejected it stating simply, “I’m not interested in listening to another U2 album.” What a bitch! Now, I come back with my official opinion - “This is the best Coldplay album yet.” You must listen to it through headphones. That’s my only caveat. It sounds good over speakers, and it sounds great in the car, but there is something special about listening to it in the headphones, like being able to hear Chris quietly count off. Also, I own the official album and then I also have the special Marky D. Sade found this two weeks before it was released version. The difference is that I have two extra tracks - Lost (acoustic) and Lovers in Japan (acoustic). The trick is that you have to listen to the album, looped, without the two extra tracks. Let song 10 fade into song 1. I won’t give it away here, but just do it. It’s neato. I think my favorite song right now is Strawberry Swing. It’s a great way to start the day - Chris Martin telling you it’s such a perfect day.
July 29th, 2008 — Bondage, Fetish, Lochai, Press Releases, Pro Photo Tours, Quid Pro Quo, Websites
ProPhotoTours.com
Pro Photo Tours has announced new monthly tour dates beginning August 8-10th in Tampa, FL. Bobby Knight, David Lawrence, and Lochai are three professional photographers, each well known and respected within their specialty, who work together to provide workshops that were crafted specifically to meet the needs of advanced amateurs and working professional photographers.
Join master photographers in their fields of glamour, fetish, and fine art erotic photography to learn how to Shoot for the Walls and not just your computer screen. Anyone can take a pretty picture; it takes skill to produce an image that is good enough to hang on a gallery wall. This three day intensive weekend provides the knowledge base to capture and produce images that art collectors will want to hang in their homes, not just view on their monitors.
Pro Photo Tours teaches you to create the setting with stylists, rope artists, and other artistic props. You will learn how to work with models, professional and amateur, from both an artistic and business angle. You will learn their lighting set ups for the dramatic and mysterious, and give you the secrets for capturing an emotion and story in just one image. To finish the workshop you will learn their post production techniques to make it a keeper.
The resulting fine art collaborations will be published in a limited edition coffee table book, in which each participant will be represented.
This intimate workshop is hands-on, side-by-side, learning the recipe for award winning art from the chefs themselves. Visit ProPhotoTours.com to see when they will be visiting a city near you. (http://prophototours.com)
