Literate Perversions

It’s a Thin Line Between Art and Sex

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Cherry Torn pours drinks on the Upper Floor at Saturday’s “Thin Line Between Art and Sex” event.

In my unfortunately abortive attempt recently to promote non-crappy porn, one of the positive obstacles that I ran into in trying to get enough articles up was the fact that I suddenly realized that there was actually a surplus of stuff to write about. What I said about there being an excess of crap still stands; whenever you wander into the world of smut, be sure to bring a snorkel so you breathe under all the shit.

But nevertheless, things are a lot better than they used to be; in addition to being ass-deep in personal tsuris, one thing that stalled me was that I just couldn’t decide who to write with. There’s good reason to be optimistic about where we’ll be with our porn in twenty years. [Read more…]

Chickenhawks for Clinton

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Ryan Davis just sent me the YouTube link to his latest opus, Chickenhawks for Clinton.  I’ve never understood the fanatical passion that drives conservative hatred of the Clintons.  I refer to Bill as the finest Republican to hold the White House, and Hillary has, if anything, served the corporatist agenda even more loyally and efficiently.  The idea that she’s some kind of radical lefty feminist is so absurd that it’s not even beneath contempt; on the contrary, she might be the only person who can convince Americans to go to war in Iran.

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Now playing: The Dresden Dolls – Seeräuber Jenny

Happy Birthday to Audacia

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As of today, one of my favorite perverts, Audacia Ray, turns 27. Happy birthday, Dacia. But birthdays happen every year. They’re almost mundane. Far more important is that Audacia has finished her thesis. Mazel tov to her. That’s an amazing accomplishment, especially when I reflect that I graduated two months after the rest of my high school class and only barely managed not to slit my wrists when getting a Bachelors’ in Liberal Arts. I’m sure that it will be worth every tear and moment of frustration.

If you want to show Dacia your admiration and congratulations, be sure to show up at the opening of Sex Workers Visions II this Tuesday, May 1 at Arena Studios in NYC.

Guest Post: Pictures At An Exhibition

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In her post Lifestyle Choices, orchidea painted a disturbing triptych of three images: a roommate, her daughter and that which she “will never become inured to.” The first image was the memory of a roommate, a girl who stood 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighed 88 pounds: “a cushion of bones held together by flaps of skin.” The center panel is her daughter, healthy and beautiful, fortunate to have a mother who celebrates her child’s beauty. The third panel is blank, reserved for the images that orchidea wishes did not exist. Images that she hopes will not harm her daughter: young women, so thin that they no longer menstruate, who consider their quest for thinness a lifestyle choice.

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World Tour of Public Art

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I find most public art pretty dull. Most of it is hampered by its public nature, and so any inventiveness is buried under triumphalism, inoffensiveness, and pandering.  I do have a fondness for some of it, like the statue of Alice in Central Park.  To see what public art can be, check out the gallery that’s been assembled at haha.nu, of “strange statues around the world.” I kind of take issue with their title; yes, it’s a little weird to have a life-size replica of Optimus Prime, the head Transformer, but most of them (including Optimus) are just breathtaking in their originality, beauty, and use of public space. What’s really amazing is how many of these statues get away with placing eroticism in public, where the wimmins and children can see them. Some of the more frank statues wouldn’t even be allowed in our most liberal enclaves, like San Francisco and New York.