Entries Tagged 'Toys' ↓
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 16th, 2008 — Blogs, Books, Movies, Mr. F., Ms Nikki Nefarious, Reviews, Stuff and Things, The Dude, Toys, Updates, Websites, bestsexbloggers.com, madison young, politics
Lolcats are from icanhascheezburger.com
A couple of crazy weeks have passed! It’s nice to be back to normal. W goes back to school on Monday and she’s really excited to finish out her middle school years there. She has had to change schools several times and it would have been such a disruption to her life to have to change schools again this year and then again next year. Her education has benefited, it’s objectively obvious when you look at her transcripts and awards.
Next year she’s likely return to public school. It’s not really an issue of private vs. public school. These three years are the only years she has attended private school and that was due to my faculty tuition discount. I suspect that most parents are paranoid about public school the way that some are about stranger danger, yet if you do your homework you’ll see that your child is safer walking (alone) to and sitting in public school in NYC than they are in a lightning storm and we have lightning storms here almost daily in the summer.
Public schools in North Carolina are terribly underfunded. One of the best things you can do as a parent of a public school student is try to have your child placed in the honors programs. Because W will finish the year at her middle school in honors Algebra 1, Spanish I, Latin, Chemistry, and an advanced English and History curriculum she will benefit in the pubic school system. She has her own goal of attending a private, specialized school for math and science on scholarship her last two years of high school. She is extremely motivated to do well.
Of course, I can’t say this without mentioning how imbalanced the public school curriculum is - for a public school system it still seems to be a very have vs. have nots system. I recognize that this is a Privilege. I also recognize that it’s in my job description as a Mom to do everything I can to give her every advantage that I can in life, while teaching her to be grateful, compassionate, and generous.
Okay, so enough about education and parenting. Life!
The Best Sex Bloggers is doing great - our content is top shelf, the contributors are amazing writers, and the variety isn’t found anywhere else that I know of. Most of the admin stuff is finally done. Our header is up and looks good, we got the image problem fixed, and now we can start adding selected contributors to the project.
I’m going to be helping Audacia Ray with some promo work on some of her new projects, so that’s pretty amazing and exciting.
I’m going to review a movie for Madison Young that she sent to me.
Rachel Kramer Bussel is sending us some books to review for Amazon.com, as well as a copy of Spanked! for us to review. I have another of her books that I am reviewing currently, called Dirty Girls, for Seal Press. I am actually the only person holding me back from being done with that because now that I know her RKB, I want to ask her a few questions about the book before I publish the review and I have been distracted. I’ll have to get back on track with that.
I’m talking with Lucrezia Magazine about writing for them, though since I’m still just talking with them, I don’t have really specific things to mention. I just thought that it’s worth mentioning.
Lelo.com contacted me and asked me to review a product of theirs, so I chose the Luna Beads. I haven’t even had an opportunity to try them out. Yes, I know you can’t imagine, but it’s been a weird couple of weeks. I assure you, I’ll get to work researching them and give you my opinion.
Finally, at least for now, I’ve joined The Femme’s Guide and will post there about some specific topics with some amazing women who are collaborating on the project. It’s a nice opportunity and I appreciate being invited to take part in it.
All of my friends are out of town this weekend. Seriously. M is gone for three weeks traveling in Asia, Mr. F is in Pittsburgh celebrating his birthday, Mr. Johnson is in Colombia, I dropped The Dude at the airport yesterday for his weekend away, and Nikki is at Fetcon, as are Sabrina and Melvin. No wonder I’ve managed to get so much work done today! :)
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 6th, 2008 — Blogs, Books, Claire Adams, Coldplay, Fetish, Interviews, Lochai, Mr. F., Reviews, Stuff and Things, The Dude, Toys, Websites, bestsexbloggers.com, madison young
Today's Lolcat Image is Specially Selected for The Dude
Yet another late night. It’s 5:21 am. I always like to keep track of what time I begin so I can see just how long I spend pondering my day. I mean I never sit here with a plan, I just start writing and then think about what I’ve been doing. See? It’s 5:32 am now and I just spent 11 minutes chatting with The Dude. I think I could be a more efficient job if it weren’t for Gchat because now it’s 5:39 am.
I spent almost all of my day doing admin stuff on BestSexBloggers.com, which is what I expected to happen on Day 2. I think we’re getting our kinks worked out. It’s coming together nicely. We are lucky that the best of the best continue to join us, writers and photographers. It’s very exciting to see my name there with theirs.
I had a really nice chat on the phone with Radical Vixen. It was, in a word, delightful.
Then I had a nice little text interchange with D.
Enjoyed a very sexy little Gchat with Mr. F, discussing our upcoming plans for a very kinky weekend. If it had worked out that I was in his neighborhood at the right time, we could have gotten together today, but… life.
While I was running errands today, Lochai called. So I’m sitting at my Cookie Friend’s house and my phone is ringing and I’m frantically trying to answer it, which is I think the first time that CF has seen me really freak out over a phone call. I’m a pretty cool Cat(alina). So out of the blue my phone is glitched, stuck, nothing I could do - couldn’t silence it, answer it, ignore it - nothing but sit and watch as Lochai’s name flickered on the screen. So I restarted my phone and called back and got voicemail. Aargh! So as I’m on the final stretch home, my phone rang again and this time it worked! As it turned out, he had just called to say Thank You. Just hearing him say it was all I needed. It means the world to me that I genuinely helped him.
I “met” Madison Young via email and I’m going to interview her and also she is sending me some DVD’s to review! I’m way excited for that! (Thanks for the introduction, Lochai!)
Lelo.com contacted me and asked me to review one of their products. I chose the Luna Beads. It seems kind of fun to have something like that to play with - and honestly, I love their vibrators, but I had to try this.
I made Twitter friends a while back with Rachel Kramer Bussel - she is the editor of Dirty Girls - the book I’m writing up for Seal Press on CatalinaLoves.com. I sent her a twit today and asked her if she’d do a short Q&A with me via email for the review and she said, “Sure!” So score one for Twitter!
And I think that pretty much brings us up to date. It’s now 6:11 am. I have to add an image, tag, and categorize my post. Let’s see how I do…
Oh, by the way - you can now email me at Catalina@BestSexBloggers.com, which is kind of cool.
Oh, and The Dude emailed a version of Coldplay’s “Swallowed In The Sea” that was done by an A Capella group that he listened to when he was in college.
Alright, it’s 6:20 am and I’m clicking publish. I think I should focus more.
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 26th, 2008 — Altered Aperture, Blogs, Bondage, Ms Nikki Nefarious, My Naughty Secretary, Mz. Berlin, Photos, Recommendations, The Good Things List, Toys, Websites
"Catalina's Penthouse Bondage", Rigging and Photography by Ms. Nikki Nefarious
This week’s Good Things List is packed full of as many good things as I could find for you. Some are free, some are not. Everything on here I hand-picked myself and I recommend. It’s not bullshit, it’s not clever advertising, it’s just that I’m an opinionated person and I think that people should know about the good things that I find. That’s all.
A Good Blog To Read
Naughty Secretary writes a very hot blog. She is a natural born writer, it just pours out of her and what she ends up with is eloquent and perfect every single time. She caught my attention and now we are close. I consider her my Naughty Secretary, as she has taken on the position willingly. I’m not just sending you there because NS is fucking hot, nor am I sending you there just because she wrote this post about me, but it certainly didn’t hurt her case either!
A Good Dildo
I’m way into glass / pyrex dildos these days. I talked before about the Cyberglass Felicity. This time I’m recommending the Pleasure Bump. They are a really nice quality for a really nice price. I was going on and on about the Cyberglass Felicity with a friend of mine who said, ” I love that glass dildo. Most glass products are so expensive, but this one is inexpensive, yet feels like some of the higher end glass dildos.” So there you have it, two kinky women agree these dildos are the way to go!
A Good Quickie
Mz Berlin is a friend of mine, as you know. She’s sexy, she’s intelligent, she’s dorky, she’s funny, she loves Lolcats, and sensory deprivation with her Dom, The Mad Scientist. She also has a little clips store that is well worth your time. Of course you can see porn for free, duh. I’m not stupid. I know this. You can also eat for free if you want to dumpster dive. This is the equivalent of eating in the restaurant rather than digging through the scraps. Take your pick and give a click. It’s a mixture of content from her younger days and also current content that she creates herself. And as she says, “I made it just for you.”
A Good Calling Card
I really need to have new calling cards made. Badly. So does everybody I know. Lately it’s been the topic of conversation amongst my friends. When Thursday’s Child suggested Moo Cards, I instantly knew I had to pass that site along in the Good Things List this week. It is definitely where I am going to order my cards from (payday… payday…) Oh, by the way - I get nothing from them for saying this - I just think their site is very cool.
A Good Deed
Now you can do a good deed and get off at the same time! It doesn’t really get better than that. Seriously. Take a look at “Adopt a Child” by Sinless Touch. I’m not affiliated with them, but I saw a press release on AVN (Adult Video Network) recently and looked into it and it’s the real deal. It says on their site:
During checkout, you have the option to round up your purchases and donate electronic “spare change” to a charitable cause. One of the reasons that people don’t donate is because they don’t have enough time, so we have tired to make it easy for you. During your checkout you decide how much to round up your total, and the donation is included in your payment.
With your generous donations, we have committed to adopting children worldwide. We will maintain a profile of each child and their life for all to follow and see how we are all making a difference.
A Good Rigger
A rigger is a bondage artist. S/he ties knots intricately for BDSM scenes using Nawa Shibari as well as other bondage art techniques. Professional riggers are employed by companies like Kink.com and often are themselves players in the scene (take Claire Adams, for example). Some are just there to tie up the willing victim. Some are there to create bondage art for bondage art photography. Ms. Nikki Nefarious was voted the #3 Rigger in the 2008 Bondage Awards. That’s right, my Nikki, the genius behind Altered Aperture, the award winning rigger ties up Catalina all the time. How fucking lucky am I?!?! Nikki’s recent separation from Social Kink has made her more available for freelance work. Now’s your chance!
A Good Way To Distract Yourself
I might be the last one alive to have signed up already for Twitter, my profile is CatalinaLoves, but I’m now officially addicted. I even have the little Twitterfox plug in for Firefox and now I can play with all my blogger friends and fellow kinksters and perverts all day long while I’m supposed to be working! If I could figure it out, I would add a little Twitter widget to Catalina Loves, but I haven’t figured it out yet. I could also, apparently, get updates on my cell phone, but again, not quite that cool. Funny, I can tell you how to write code, but I can’t get Twitter technology to work.
Well, that’s about it - anything more and I’ll just be looking for good things. These are all good things that I’ve found, stumbled upon, or was pointed to. I’d rather have a short list of good things that are really good than a big long list of crap I hunted for on Friday night at 9:33 pm (the current time here in Charlotte, NC).
Just a little shameless self-promotion — I’d like to think that my blogs are all good things, so just a little reminder to take a peek. I also just started writing at Trufetish.com and I will contribute on the blog at Into The Attic as well. Soon all of the best sex bloggers and erotic photographers will collaborate on a very big project I am managing - so keep an ear out for news about that! And now, it’s time for my date with MDS.
July 5th, 2008 — Bitching, Lochai, Mr. and Mrs. Kink (dot com), Stuff and Things, Submission, Toys, Weight Loss
I was going to try to write a journal entry last night, but things got all fucked up. That seems to happen a lot in my life.
I finally made my connection with my pharmacist for my herbal prescription, so I went by his place to pick that up and even took him some cookies - the real kind, made fresh and gooey. I ate one, but only one because I have re-committed to my ridiculously strict eating program that consists of mostly not eating.
I started running again yesterday and I was really worried that it would suck, but I did run for half an hour and I ran almost the same distance I used to run, so I haven’t lost too much. I have definitely lost muscle and gained fat as I’ve been injured at least half of this year. That sucks. Motivation of the even remote possibility of shooting with Lochai someday is enough motivation to make me lose the final two sizes I need to lose to be a 4.
So running with my friend, Mike like the good old days when I still taught there. It was really fun and really good for me in a hundred different ways. The fucker, though… I texted him last night, “Workout tomorrow?” and he says, “I never workout on Saturdays.” Shit. And it’s a Holiday Weekend. I fucking hate holidays. I do. There is never any benefit to me in holidays. There’s no mail, everything is closed, the doctors will not refill your prescriptions on weekends or holidays, and nobody’s around.
I digress…
I left my cookie friend’s house and found out that M wouldn’t be able to keep our Friday night dinner date/fireworks in uptown from his place because of some multimillion deal he’s working on. Okay, I get it. A multimillion dollar deal takes precedence over dinner, but fuck. I hate making plans and having them canceled. I understand, don’t get me wrong - no hard feelings. I have had to cancel on him due to family obligations before, but fuck! He is married to his job - I am married to my family.
I came home and had a million things I wanted to get done. If I’m not going to be out doing something then I should work. But MDS has been feeling a little left out lately and required attention, undivided put the computer and the cell phone away attention. So with anxiety I sat and did nothing for hours. I know it’s good for me to do that sometimes, but it seems very unproductive.
We had great sex. I’ll write about it on Mr. and Mrs. Kink, though. Seems a better place for it. I did think about Lochai coming in my mouth as I came… I’d say that’s what put me over the top. I texted him to tell him so this morning, too.
So now it’s Saturday. I was awakened with a cock in my mouth and a Silver Bullet on my clit. I was forced to come twice before I could get up and start the day. Now I have to figure out what to do first. It’s not a matter of what to do, just what to do first. There’s so much to do.
I need something. I just don’t know what it is.
July 5th, 2008 — Blogs, Bondage, Erocrush, FetLife, January Seraph, Lochai, Masturbation, Recommendations, Shopping, The Good Things List, Toys, Websites
This week’s Good Things List is brought to you by the letter V (for valium) and the number 10 (for the dose)… and readers like you! (PS: JOIN FETLIFE!)
A Good Blog To Read
Narration by D is this week’s blog pick. D is the counterpart of another of my favorite blogs Thursday’s Child. It says in his profile: “From the male perspective, the exploration of a young married couple beyond vanilla sex.” D is in my BILF list. His wife is also in my BILF list. They as a couple are in my BILF list. Now we just have to figure out how to get into the same state and city!
A Good Toy
I have just gotten my new shipment of toys to review for Vibe Review and I haven’t even formally reviewed it yet on my blog, but so far I can tell you that I adore the Cyberglass Felicity. I have just recently gotten into glass/pyrex dildos and this one is a perfect starter because of the low price. You can warm it under some hot water in the sink or you can cool it in the refrigerator for a while (it comes in a nice case, by the way!). You can use either end, you can play with it vaginally or anally. I just love it! Vibe Review happens to be a great company to do business with - a classy online toy company that has a good reputation. That matters!
A Good Photographer
Erocrush. Melvin Moten, Jr. is Erocrush. His work is special to me. He is special to me. I consider him a very good friend. He allows me to use his images all the time on my blogs. I know that you have enjoyed them. Like Lochai, who I’m in love with, Melvin isn’t shooting for the porn content market. He shoots fetish and erotic art that he enjoys. With real women, that he enjoys. With real couples. One thing I noticed about Melvin’s work is that his models obviously feel so natural with him that they forget he’s even there. It’s as though you’re actually there, in the scene, a voyeur. I love Melvin. I want Melvin to shoot me. With any luck at all, this fall, he will. Then I will have my way with him! If you click on the (perfect) image in this post (by Erocrush) it will magically take you to his site. Fear not! It will open in a new window and you won’t lose the Good Things List!
A Good Pay Site
Inescapable Bondage is January Seraph’s new content site. She has been shooting their own content like crazy. She and her hotter than hell partner-in-crime, Smutty, have been violating all kinds of men and women. This is Brand Spanking New! January isn’t, of course. She’s got a great reputation as a top model and actress already, but this site is so new that you’re probably the first one you know to see it!
A Good Blogger Resource
The Week In Kink. Duh. I sat here and tried to think about this one for a while and then I realized, if you’re a good blogger and you have good posts, then you should send me a little note. Each week I go through blogs that I like and pick the hottest posts and then publish them on TheWeekInKink.Com. I just want to be clear that I’m not trying to compete with Sugasm. It’s not a democracy - it’s just a list of my top favoritest, hottest, made me want to masturbate posts. :)
A Good Group
It’s widely known that I love FetLife. I’m an official greeter there now, which makes me feel extra special. What makes me feel super, duper special, though, is starting a new Charlotte Kinksters group (it’s called Charlotte, NC - The Queen of Kink, since we are the Queen City!) If you join FetLife you can join the Charlotte Kinky group. The idea is that we could all get together for informal gatherings and have a little community here that isn’t quite as formal as CAPEX.
A Good Alternative Education Resource/CommUNITY Source
This is the place to go to find professional alternative educators, presenters, event planners, vendors, dm/security/medical, legal, volunteers, and more. Everybody claims to be a sex educator, but this group is truly respected within the commUNITY as the leaders in their fields. Now, you can learn from them. Oh, it’s no coincidence you’ll find Lochai there. Wouldn’t you die to take a bondage class with Lochai? Oh my… You can also take classes with people like Claire Adams. OMG. I’m in heaven.
July 4th, 2008 — Blogs, Bondage, Collars, Domination, Fetish, Lochai, Masturbation, Mr. and Mrs. Kink (dot com), Mz. Berlin, Recommendations, The Week In Kink, Toys
[This beautiful image is of Narration by D. I can't even begin to express how much I want him.]
And please take a few minutes to check out the great posts at True Grime.
So there you have it. The Week In Kink with a few new friends on the
