Diva's Ramblings

our call for art about sex due Friday- please reblog

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:29:26 -0400

our call for art about sex due Friday- please reblog:

Doing Your Dirty Work Doing Your Dirty Work: a sampler of contemporary art about sex Open to Artists in the United States

"She plans on expediting the proposed ordinance by placing it on a fast-track “urgency”..."

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:07:04 -0400

“She plans on expediting the proposed ordinance by placing it on a fast-track “urgency” basis. If passed by Ventura supervisors, the proposal could go into law within two weeks. Parks said that since Measure B passed in Los Angeles County she has been getting emails and phone calls from constituents in her district who are upset by an increasing amount of porn shoots. She said that the constituents aren’t just hearing “moans and groans” from nearby houses, they’re “seeing naked people.”
“In one neighborhood — Ventu Park — there were two adult shoots recently that coincided,” she told XBIZ. “It has been a major disruption to that community.””

- Ventura County Supervisor to Propose Porn-Condom Ordinance

This is scary because she is misusing her power or pass an ordinance requiring mandatory condoms in porn shoots as a way to keep porn shoots out of her county. A Not In My Backyard mentality. Where does she once mention why she feels condoms are needed in porn shoots for the safety of the performers?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again this isn’t just about condoms in porn. These laws are being used to fight pornography itself. Everyone should care about that.

courtneytrouble: Feminist is Not a Dirty Word: and other...

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 12:14:53 -0400

courtneytrouble:

Feminist is Not a Dirty Word: and other thoughts on porn

My Feminist Porn Awards and Feminist Porn Conference writeup

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 09:45:00 -0400

My Feminist Porn Awards and Feminist Porn Conference writeup:

rkb:

If you like my article, I’d love it if you’d reblog this and/or otherwise pass it on/like it on FB/etc.

The use of “feminist” was a bit more controversial. Good for Her owner Carlyle Jansen admitted, “People think we’re the Lesbian Porn Awards or the Man Hating Porn Awards; they think feminism is passé. We want women’s, men’s, and trans perspectives; we’re not just looking for what women want.” Not everyone agreed with Taormino on the need to explicitly label their work “feminist porn.” Director Nica Noelle (who caused a stir pre-conference by writing that she grew up thinking feminists “could use a sense of humor and a few rounds of hot, hair-pulling sex”), argued at a panel entitled Ladyporn: Porn for Women, “I think the term feminism promotes the idea that this is porn created by women, for women.” Instead, she’s created four companies, catering to straight, lesbian, gay male, and transgender porn respectively. Netherlands porn channel Dusk TV uses “porna” as a shorthand for porn geared toward women that’s now become, according to its director Liesbet Zikkenheimer, a household term. Sophie Delancey, PR and marketing coordinator of The ArtofBlowjob.com said, “These are feminist blowjobs. Feminist porn doesn’t need to be about women’s pleasure exclusively. You can have pleasure by giving pleasure.”

SWOP Bay: TRIGGER WARNING: SERIAL KILLER IN OAKLAND TARGETING WOMEN & SEX WORKERS

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 19:10:11 -0400

SWOP Bay: TRIGGER WARNING: SERIAL KILLER IN OAKLAND TARGETING WOMEN & SEX WORKERS :

swopbay:

To Oakland residents, especially those who are SW’s - -

We have received confirmation from sources that there is a serial killer preying upon the female street populous including, but not limited to street based sex workers.

PLEASE take precautions - more than usual.

Those who we have spoken…

I feel more naked without my phone than I do without any of my...

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 09:45:20 -0400

I feel more naked without my phone than I do without any of my clothes.

Photo

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 20:56:17 -0400

All good things gotta come to an end, including Catalyst Con.

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 20:41:07 -0400

feministsfuck:

I just realized that I should have worn green today! That’s why I didn’t win any swag!

I had a really wonderful time at Catalyst Con this weekend. I am not yet a sex professional, so at times I felt like a fraudulent participant in the sexual fray. I also didn’t know anyone, which was both liberating and lonely for this introvert. But I learned such invaluable, wonderful, exciting things, both concrete and intangible, and I have a few cool new experiences under my belt. I feel like this was my official “coming out” as a wannabe sex professional, though I’ve said as much to some friends and family members - this was me saying to all the fucking awesome and established sex professionals here that, yes, I belong here, I belong among your ranks. Or I will, someday. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to be here, and for the wealth of knowledge that was shared with me.

Highlights from #CCON:

Saturday:

Suzann Larsdotter and Malinda Flodman, “The history of sex education in Sweden and the development of sex ed for Swedish queer women”: Oh, so fantastic! I think this actually might have been my favorite presentation, and that’s saying a lot. It was just so sincere and charming. It made me pretty sure that I do, in fact, want to move to Sweden. I learned that sex education is developed by the government and it is mandatory in schools - furthermore, unlike in the U.S., it must be accurate and factual. I learned that almost nobody, including lesbians, uses dental dams. I really want a copy of this awesome youth sex ed book (translated images here). Lastly, I learned how to say “cunt” in Swedish: fitta.

Quetzal Francois and Darcy Allder, “Making Comprehensive Sex Education into Inclusive Sex Education”: Saying that some people have “more flat-shaped bodies” and some people have “more pole-shaped bodies” is a great way to avoid excluding people by conflating anatomy with gender. When you discuss things, such as menstruation, talking about it from the anatomical side of things (“the uterus,” rather than “the woman’s body”) is great, for the same reason (not all women have a uterus; not all men do not). Do research on your audience. Pre-tests and asking questions to start gauges knowledge and interest levels. I got my first ever shot at presenting sex education to an audience of more than one, and it was terrifying and fun!

Charlie Glickman, “How to Be a Top Presenter”: So many good quotes from this session. “Please turn your phone on vibrate. Put it somewhere interesting if you like; that’s up to you.” “When you’re in front of a room, you are topping the room.” “You’ll be surprised at how much you know, that you think you don’t know, because you’re not confident that you know it.” “The world will be a better place when more men take it up the ass.” There was a lot of cheering when he said that last one. I thought his tips on how to create and deliver presentations were great!

Tristan Taormino, Sinnamon Love, Dylan Ryan, Constance Penley, Mireille Miller-Young, “Feminist Porn: The Politics of Producing Pleasure”: Pleasure is political. Porn needs to stop making porn for just those who keep buying it - they need to do market research to find out what those who aren’t buying might buy instead, like any other product. Most porn depicts sex happening TO women, not WITH them - we want to see women engaged and having fun. “Feminist” is the exact right word and movement for this porn (as opposed to “humanist,” fuck that shit). No other word has the right political charge. And I bought The Feminist Porn Book to read on the plane. Tristan signed it!

I attended a live recording of Sex Out Loud with Tristan Taormino and her guest, Felice Shays. I almost immediately got a crush on Felice, in no small part because she talks passionately and intelligently, in that sexy low voice, about rough sex. I’ll share the podcast when it comes out! I couldn’t ask any questions because I was too turned on to come up with anything interesting.

I resisted my headache and my introversion in order to attend Dirty Bingo with Ducky Doolittle, which was so weird and so fun. I wish I’d won one of those amazing prize packs, though! There were huge, epic dildos, and butt plugs, and floggers, and flavored lubes, and more. I know I don’t need more sex toys, but I want them just the same. Some of the Tantus toys that were won that I wanted: Thwack flogger; Juice plug (apparently can actually juice a lemon!); Anaconda dildo.

Sunday:

I used the soft pink Sportsheets blindfold I got in my swag bag last night to block out the light from my hotel window. I slept really well.

Ava Mir-Ausziehen, “What’s So Special About Sex?”: Ava’s thesis was that there should be nothing special about sex - it’s “specialness” is problematic, it “others” it, and it shames people for not being good at it or not caring about it as much as some other people. It should be treated like an intrinsic, everyday human thing, like exercise or eating. Just as we hire personal trainers and chefs, we could still hire sex professionals. Good point: “We feel liberated and radical when we talk about sex, but that does not make us radical on its own, and it does not always lead to liberating action.” Concluding analogy: No one should be forced to learn to prepare, or to eat, a gourmet meal if what they really want and are happy with is a microwave burrito. A lot of this talk resonated with me, although I do really love the whole spectrum of sexual expression - from the mild to the ostentatious.

Marcia Baczynski, “Language Matters: How to Speak Sex-Positivity So That People Listen”: WHOA. Amazing presentation! Halfway through, I realized that Marcia was the first presenter I’d seen to go without a microphone, and I hadn’t even noticed because she projected so well. I learned so much from this presentation about how to frame a debate and how to use the right language for my audience. Quote: “We talk about penetration. We could talk about engulfment. Two different words, same activity.” Important takeaway: the #1 thing you can do to make people listen: listen to them first. What do they want? Use their language.

I shared some stories about my sexual history with The Pleasure Chest. Immediately after we were done filming, I thought of several better stories I might have told! But I’m sure anything I told them, or would have told them, is pretty vanilla in comparison to what others shared.

I made a mask with ArtPulp!

The closing keynote was fascinating and poignant, presented by Carol Queen and her longtime partner, Robert. “Everyone is a sex educator because we all teach those around us about sex, relationships, and love.”

I can’t believe it’s over already! I’m already looking forward to more. Maybe CCon West in September?

makesexnormal: “With my vulva puppet and the representatives...

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 19:40:49 -0400

makesexnormal:

“With my vulva puppet and the representatives from WET Lubricants at CatalystCon in Washington, DC. Vulvas love quality lube!”

- sex educator Ashley Manta

How do you make sex normal? Email a photo & caption to MakeSexNormal@gmail.com or submit online via Tumblr

"I don’t normally create sessions for these conferences but these were instigated by discussions and..."

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 19:05:43 -0500

““I don’t normally create sessions for these conferences but these were instigated by discussions and comment from CatalystCon West,” she said. “Too many people seem to think that these pieces of legislation are Los Angeles-based or California-based and they don’t apply to them. But the reality is that these are the first step down a slippery slope. These are about legislating our personal freedoms and I really think this is something people all over should be paying attention to before it’s too late.””

- AVN - CatalystCon East Ready To Welcome Crowds

mr zeitgeist: An Open Letter to John Baku

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 22:27:52 -0500

mr zeitgeist: An Open Letter to John Baku:

mrzeitgeist:

Dear John,

A while back an acquaintance in the scene sent me a link to a new kink social site. I was already on collarme.com and on bondage.com so I wasn’t sure why we needed a new one. Collarme was a kinky people search tool (I’m looking for a Mexican/Polish submissive under 5’4” who’s into…

jamesjkirk: PLEASE HELP ME CATCH THESE THIEVES AND GET MY...

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 08:35:34 -0500

Business Man.

"Hallo, James, what say we abscond with this satchel?" "I say, Dalmar, capital plan!"

The Sad Clown (Dalmar James)

Canada(?!) Style. (James Tudy)

He's LinkedIn!

Stay classy, Dalmar.

jamesjkirk:

PLEASE HELP ME CATCH THESE THIEVES AND GET MY THINGS BACK!

TL;DR:

These dudes (Dalmar James of Branded Strategies, LLC, and James Tudy) stole my bag with both my partner’s and my computers in it. We have a ton of evidence that it was them, including a video of them taking it. Read the below for the whole story.

Please share this story and contact them on their social media (at the bottom of this page) to put the pressure on. ALL WE WANT IS OUR BAG, AND ITS CONTENTS, PLACED IN THE CARE OF THE BARTENDER AT THE BAR IT WAS STOLEN FROM IN OAKLAND.

I am hesitant to post their information and photos, but we have given them multiple opportunities to return our things. So, you know, public shame will hopefully make an impact.

————————-

Two nights ago my partner and I were at our neighborhood bar, hanging out with some friends on trivia night.

During that time, I hung his bag on one of the hooks under the bar. The bag had both of our computers, as well as some mail, inside it. I briefly walked away to go to the bathroom, then when I came back we had moved to another part of the bar, and I forgot his bag was there.

A few minutes later, I remembered that he left it on that hook, then returned to where it was to look for it. It was gone.

During our frantic search of the bar, it came to light that one of the other patrons (named Joe) actually saw the bag. He was chatting with another gentleman sitting at the bar who had the picked up the bag when another woman sitting next to them went to leave, grabbed her things, and found the bag. Joe asked him if it was his, he said no, and told him he would turn it into the bartender.

Joe and this man were discussing business, and the man gave him a business card.

Then this man and his friend took our bag.

We weren’t sure that he was the one who actually took it, so we attempted to text and call him. We told him that if we heard back from him, and if he or his friend had the bag and returned it, contents intact, we wouldn’t get the police involved.

Having your shit stolen sucks, but I also don’t want to get anyone in major trouble because they impulsively did something stupid. If we got our things back, it would be fine.

He called back later (to my friend’s number—my phone was dead at the time so I borrowed hers) and left a phone number saying that he didn’t take it, he hoped we got it back, and that we should “call [him] to discuss it”.

This morning, another friend, V, received an email from someone saying they had my computers, needed our address, and would give them back as long as everyone was cool about it.

This freaked me out. I mean, why do you need our address? Take it to a public place. The police advised us on this matters, saying that it is common for thieves to try and negotiate a payment in exchange for the items, or to go as far as burglarizing the homes of those they stole from.

A few hours later, one of these two men called my phone from a pay phone.

They asked for my name and address. I told them that they could just return the bag to the bar. They then read off our address to me, saying they were going to “send it”, even though we told them to just take it to the bar.

Turns out, the bar has cameras inside and outside.

We got the video.

Not only was this NOT a mistake of mistaken bag identity, but the man that Joe spoke to is, despite his denials, one of the thieves.

PLEASE NOTE: We texted him a few hours before posting this, offering one more opportunity to return our things to the bar without having to resort to this.

We are hesitant to share all of this information; we have no desire to fuck up someone’s life. That said, the fact that this person refuses to take accountability and refuses to return the items in question (despite the clearly damning evidence we have) is pretty compelling in and of itself.

What’s more: This person runs A BRANDING COMPANY. Do you want a known thief who has no respect for the power of social media running your PR? Yikes.

Lastly, what originally started as a shitty situation (having something stolen is never fun, especially when it’s a laptop which holds your ENTIRE LIFE) turned into making us feel unsafe in our own home. Not cool.

His name is Dalmar James. He owns his own business, called “Branded Strategies, LLC”. His friend is named James Tudy.

I have attached several photos, including one of his business card, screenshots of both Dalmar James’ and James Tudy’s Facebooks, and a screenshot of the video at the bar.

Here’s the video of them taking the bag:

(We have more of them entering the bar WITHOUT a bag, and of James Tudy leaving with it.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZld32ANQHk

Please help us get our stuff back.

Contact Dalmar James:

http://facebook.com/dalmar.james

His company’s facebook:

http://facebook.com/brandedmediawerkz

Email: brandedmediawerkz@Gmail.com

Twitter: @brandednewz

Contact James Tudy:

http://facebook.com/James.tudy

Happiness is

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 15:49:54 -0500

tylergrigsbyphotography:

working in a coffee house on a rainy day, and becoming the official photographer for a conference!

Priceless! jessicavalenti: Shhhh…no one tell Fox News that the...

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 19:45:03 -0500

Priceless!

jessicavalenti:

Shhhh…no one tell Fox News that the “wedding kiss” picture they’re using to accompany a piece about traditional gender roles is actually of a same sex couple. (MADE MY DAY)

heyepiphora: Tantus Juice butt plug! (via Juicy! Toy With Me...

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 18:57:27 -0500

heyepiphora:

Tantus Juice butt plug!

(via Juicy! Toy With Me Tuesday - Sex Toys Blog)

"It’s awesome that some women are into Noelle’s porn. But blanket statements about what..."

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 17:23:46 -0500

“It’s awesome that some women are into Noelle’s porn. But blanket statements about what women currently and historically jill off to are getting really old. Calling Noelle’s work porn that “lures women without loss of shame” implies that women can only shamelessly enjoy porn that’s “romantic” and that all women were too afraid or turned off by other forms of erotica until now. It also insinuates that men are only into more hardcore porn and couldn’t possibly enjoy emotional erotica. Filmmakers like Noelle should definitely be profiled and it’s worth noting that there are different types of pornography out there, options that are easier to privately explore thanks to the internet and appeal more to some segments of the population. But why does it always have to be framed as “ladies be watching the porn”?”

- Please Stop Trying to Make Ladyporn Happen

"Just a reminder, ladies, that you may graduate from Wellesley, then Yale Law School, become one of..."

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 17:25:12 -0500

“Just a reminder, ladies, that you may graduate from Wellesley, then Yale Law School, become one of the most powerful and influential lawyers in the country, then the First Lady of the United States, then a U.S. Senator from New York, come this close to being the Democratic nominee for president yourself, and ultimately serve as the Secretary of State, but you’ll always be a woman — an emotional, unhinged, woman.”

- From the article Here’s the New York Post with the Most Sexist Headline of the Year on the New York Post’s cover of Hillary Clinton (with a scared-looking Bill in the corner) testifying during the congressional hearing over the embassy attack in Benghazi.
(via sugaryumyum)

The Top 10 Bacon Photos of 2012

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 17:12:18 -0500

The Top 10 Bacon Photos of 2012

Video

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 16:56:51 -0500

Photo

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 16:37:24 -0500